


Murasaki [English version]

by eternalmurasaki (hontou_ni_fxxk_desu)



Category: KAT-TUN (Band)
Genre: F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-26
Updated: 2018-02-18
Packaged: 2018-08-11 05:31:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 10
Words: 39,677
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7878388
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hontou_ni_fxxk_desu/pseuds/eternalmurasaki
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Akame's story through the years.</p><p>Part 1 (Chapters 1-10) :<br/>2002-2004</p><p>Part 2 (Chapters 11-19) :<br/>2008-2009</p><p>Part 3 (Chapters 20-35)<br/>2016 (AU, since they were initially written between 2011 and 2016)</p><p>Epilogue:<br/>2017 (AU, initially written in 2016)</p><p>***</p><p>This is the English version of my French fic, which is completed.<br/>I'll try to post one newly translated chapter every one or two weeks.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

As soon as he accepted Shizu's offer, Jin felt his nervousness start to take over. A few moments later, he wasn't even sure why he'd accepted in the first place anymore. True, she was beautiful and going out with her would make him even more popular. But Jin didn't need that for lots of fellow juniors to admire him.

 

The real reason was more that Pi always having girlfriends when he never did bothered him.

 

Kame mocked him, of course, when Jin took him aside between two classes to explain what was going on :

 

"What the hell?! Are you really gonna go out with her just for... your image or something?" He snorted.

 

"Look," Jin blushed. "I can't stay single all my life!"

 

Kame just snorted some more.

 

"Don't you think you're a bit young to be asking yourself this kind of question?"

 

"But... I'm sixteen. And..." he checked that no one was eavesdropping and lowered his voice. "I still haven't had a girlfriend. I can't have that. Pi, he... he keeps showing off with all those conquests. I can't let that baka move so far ahead from me!"

 

Kame tsk-ed.

 

"You're the bakanishi. I thought Pi was your friend!"

 

"He is !! But..."

 

Of course, Jin loved Yamapi. He just wished he could stop feeling inferior - girlfriend wise. He knew it was dumb, but it bothered him more and more. He just couldn't help it.

 

Kame on the other hand couldn't help smirking. Seeing Jin all anxious, sweating and blushing was kind of amusing. Jin had it coming... choosing to date a beautiful girl like Shizu, what's more, choosing a girl related to Johnny-san himself. Kame would've avoided her for that reason alone.

 

"Let's hope Shizu never realises the real reason you accepted to date her."

 

"Stop making fun of me Kazu," Jin grumbled. "I need your support here."

 

Despite the older one's complaints, Kame's teasing helped him relax a little.

 

"Come on, don't worry. She'll be so glad to be with you she probably won't notice anything is off."

 

Since his dance class was coming up, Kame pulled his bag over his skinny shoulder.

"I gotta go. See you at dinner!"

 

With a friendly tap on the back and a reassuring smile, Kame was about to leave but Jin caught his sleeve.

"Wait!"

 

"What?"

 

The older one's eyes met Kame's. Then embarrassedly moved to the floor.

 

"Thanks..." he mumbled.

 

Kame sighed. There was nothing to be thanked for.

 

"Hey. We're not best friends for nothing," he replied with a grin. "You can count on my help anytime."

 

"You too..." Jin's eyes lit up and he started giggling. "Actually, once everything is sorted, I'll get you a girlfriend too! Should be fun~"

 

Kame groaned.

 

"I'm doing perfectly well without your help, thanks. Unlike a certain someone, I don't need a girlfriend to feel validated."

 

Jin snorted.

 

"Wait 'til you get older. You'll see."

 

Kame just rolled his eyes.

"I really gotta go now. See ya!"

 

Kazuya didn't really care about girlfriends or who was dating who. But while walking to class, he couldn't help  wondering if Jin spending lots of time with Shizu would put a strain on their friendship. Ever since they'd joined Johnny's, they'd both spent so much time together. Having fun, practising... It had almost grown into a ritual, especially after their agency started offering sleeping facilities for juniors a few nights per week.  Every evening after class, they would meet up and spend hours working on their dance moves. Or setting traps for other dorm mates, provoking mahem in the corridors... 

Those habits would probably change now, Kame thought morosely.

 

He sighed and moved on to his classroom.

 

***

 

Dancing class went as well as usual, despite his lack of  concentration. He practised so much during his free time that he made almost no mistake and no one noticed anything was wrong. The teacher was once again very satisfied and beckoned him towards him at the end of the lesson to have a word.

 

"You know, Kame..." he said, "I think you could train with the level of Juniors above you. How would you feel about that?"

Kame was surprised and touched. Today definitely hadn't been his best performance, but the teacher seemed to have a lot of faith in him.

 

"If you really think I can handle it... ? I don't know - I wouldn't want to slow you down."

The older man smiled. 

 

"I'll talk about it to Johnny-san." He said brightly. "It would be a pity not to let you improve faster, you've got lots of potential."

 

Kame had heard that before. Far from the idol world, back when he still played baseball. That hadn't worked out for him... so he felt like he absolutely had to do his best now and make the most out of the new opportunities that were given to him.

 

"Thank you, sir."

 

The teacher's eyes suddenly shifted up, somewhere above his shoulders.

 

"I see someone's waiting for you. See you later, Kamenashi-kun!"

 

Kame turned around.

"Jin??"

 

The latter looked totally panicked and wouldn't stay still. As soon as the teacher left, Jin grabbed Kame's arm and pulled him through the corridor.

 

"Are you in such a hurry to eat?! Calm down, what's the rush?"

 

But to Kame's surprise, they hurried past the dining hall and towards the stairs.

 

"Jin, are you gonna tell me what the hell is going on?!"

 

After looking left and right to make sure they were alone, Jin finally spilled the beans.

 

"It's Shizu," he panted, "She's here!!"

 

"...What?"

 

"She's having dinner with Johnny-san!" Jin wailed, looking horrified.

At that, Kame burst out laughing.

 

"Care to tell me why that's bad news?? Are you scared of her or what?"

 

"No!!" He protested, but his face said it all. "I just... come on."

 

"But I'm hungry!!" Kame protested in turn.

 

"Don't worry, I've got all we need in my room."

 

***

 

Indeed, a few sets of stairs and corridors later, they arrived to a room with cakes and sweets strewn all over the floor. Pride had replaced fear in Jin's eyes.

 

"Look what I got from the kitchens while you were busy shaking your ass in class. Awesome, huh?"

 

"...truly a healthy dinner." Kame said sarcastically.

 

But that didn't stop him from snatching his favorite chocolate straight away.

 

"You don't seem to mind that much, pig." Jin chuckled.

 

"I'm not the one passing a dance test tomorrow. I can eat all I want~"

 

Once they'd managed to fill in their stomachs, Kame remembered Jin owed him an explanation.

 

"So. Why are you avoiding Shiz..."

 

Jin cut him off by turning his music player on.

"Come on, let's dance first. I really need to train for tomorrow's exam... please?"

 

Kame knew Jin was just avoiding the girl-topic a bit longer. But the older's anxiousness seemed to be seriously bothering him, so Kame let it slide. Besides, Jin really did have a dance exam coming up. And who could refuse a pleading Jin anyway.

 

"It's a synchronisation test - the choreo I showed you last week. Do you remember it?"

 

Kame nodded. Just like every other time, he helped him train.

 

Somehow, it was always easier together. More comfortable. Something just clicked between them and made their synchronisation almost seem natural. They could spend hours together like this, no matter the exhaustion that followed. Because while they trained, all their worries disappeared and there was nothing left but them, and their moves.

 

This time however, Jin wasn't as calm. His face was evidently flushed due to other reasons than tiredness and his moves weren't as smooth. Kame didn't comment on it, because silence seemed to be what Jin needed right then.

 

An hour later, the youngest collapsed on Jin's bed.

 

"Enough!" he moaned. His muscles were on fire, since he'd already had a full afternoon of training beforehand. 

 

Jin joined him moments later, looking as preoccupied as he'd been all evening. He pressed his hands on his forehead and heaved a sigh, then eyed Kame before promptly looking away.

 

Kazuya was intrigued. It wasn't like Jin to act like this, not like him at all.

 

"Is there something you need to talk about?"

 

Jin sighed again and sat up, obviously frustrated. His mouth opened and shut several times as he tried to speak, but each time he seemed unable to find the right words.

 

"Kazu, I... I'm scared." He finally admitted, his voice barely above a whisper.

 

Kame turned a surprised face towards him. Jin was one of the more popular juniors and always seemed so confident. Or maybe reckless was a better choice of word. One thing was certain, he seldom showed such a vulnerable side.

 

"Look. I already told you." He replied. "She likes you so much she won't notice your lack of... genuine lust? Don't worry about it."

 

"That's definitely not it. She's really hot."

 

If possible, his blush grew even deeper. It took a few additional moments of silence for him to finally find the courage to go on.

 

"Kazuya... it's because I'd trust you with anything that I'm going to ask you something."

 

That definitely sounded serious.

 

"Last time you asked me to do something for you, I almost got expelled," Kame joked, remembering when Jin had made him hide beer in his dorm. He'd hoped to diffuse the tension by bringing back that memory, but Jin didn't seem to feel any better.

 

"Kazu, it's serious this time."

The look on his face made Kame stop with the teasing face.

 

"Hey..." the youngest sat up to face him and lay a hand on his. Jin usually found it annoying when he did that, but not this time. "Whatever is wrong... you know I'm with you. OK? I'll do anything to help."

 

Jin stared at him thoughtfully. He finally breathed out and purposefully stared down at his hands.

 

"Okay, um... the reason I'm avoiding her is... I've never kissed anyone."

The last few words had been spoken so quickly Kame barely heard them.

 

"Oh." Kame bit his lip and pulled his hand back. Part of him wanted to laugh because he'd never expected that. Part of him felt sorry for Jin's misery though, so he held back and waited.

 

Since Kame hadn't reacted too badly, Jin gathered his courage to continue.

 

"See, with my reputation among juniors and... the image she has of me, I can't afford to disappoint her. And at my age, she'll think it's ridiculous"

 

Kame shook his head in disagreement.

 

"You know, Jin, I'm pretty sure she's got about just as much experience as you."

 

But Jin wouldn't listen.

"I don't care, I want to be better than anything she expects."

 

Kame started to grow uncomfortable.

 

"Um, and... ?" 

Jin wasn't going to take this where Kame thought he was, was he?

His cheeks burning, Kazuya waited.

 

His doubts were confirmed.

 

"Kazu... please, please don't hate me. But I really need you to help me. To help me practise. ...please?"

 

"..............................................."

 

Kame's heart stopped. His mind was as blank as his shocked silence. Who wouldn't be surprised at such a request?

 

Since Kame said nothing, Jin started to panic again.

 

"Look, I understand if you don't want to. I.... I'd thought that if there was one person I could ask this from, it would be you. Anyone else would've just laughed in my face... and would've probably run away, saying I'm disgusting."

 

Jin babbled on, because Kame's silence was freaking him out. "Well maybe you also think I'm disgusting for asking. But since we're best friends... I thought that if it came to the worst, at least you'd forgive me and we'd end up getting over this humiliating request. I'm sorry."

 

"You're not disgusting," Kame said firmly, belatedly realising his answer maybe sounded too enthusiastic. "I mean, er... I understand."

 

It was finally Kame's turn to blush. He absent-mindedly rearranged a strand of hair, for the sake of doing something with his hands.

 

"But, er... I'm not the best teacher here... I'm pretty much just as new to this as you are."

 

"I doesn't matter!" Jin hastily replied. "You're not the one who's gonna be labelled as a bad kisser by the whole agency if Shizu says so. You don't have to be perfect right away... while I do!"

 

Jin seemed to be in panic mode again, but at least his fear didn't seem to be directed at Kame anymore.

 

"I see you're really determined to catch up on Yamapi..." Kame teased. "Okay, well... um. Okay."

 

Although he tried to keep a calm appearance, Kame was feeling more and more uncomfortable. What was he getting himself into.

But Jin needed his help and Kame had just promised he'd do anything.

 

The eldest got up to lock the door.

He almost tripped on his way back, obviously still nervous.

 

"Would you like me to get into a particular role to make things easier, Akanishi-kun?" Kame asked, batting his eyelashes at him.

 

Jin barely had the time to raise an eyebrow before Kame threw his arms around his neck, wailing in a girly voice.

 

"I've been waiting for you for so long, Jin-kun~"

 

Jin saw himself blush in the mirror opposite them both, and it freaked him out a bit more.

 

"Quit making fun of me Kame!" He protested, and firmly pushed the younger off him, making him fall back on the floor. "Plus, you're all sweaty and disgusting." he grumbled.

 

"Jin-kun is mean, you shouldn't push a delicate girl like me so brutally!" Kame wailed on.

 

Talking in a joke-female voice took some of the awkwardness out of the situation. Maybe if it all sounded like a joke it would be less weird for them to kiss.

 

"Shut up! Your roleplay is distracting me." Jin said with a wobbly voice.

 

And then suddenly he was straddling Kame's waist and Kame instantly lost his voice. He'd never seen Jin like this, his hair floating about his face at every sudden move, a new kind of sparkle in his eyes. Jin leaned over him, his arms supporting him, and they stood like that, as the eldest hesitated one last moment. Kame started to lose patience.

 

"Jin are we doing this or not.." Kazuya snapped, only to be immediately interrupted by Jin's lips.

 

It was... strange. Not at all like what either of them had expected. In movies, kisses always looked gentle, passionate. This... was just weird and uncomfortable.

 

Jin didn't last long without letting out his frustration.

He pulled away.

 

"This sucks. I suck! Have all the people and movies who say it's great been lying?! Ugh..."

 

Kame blinked.

 

"Try again..." he offered. His voice was neutral, but deep down, he felt a bit guilty regarding Jin's disappointment. He had a feeling that both of them being anxious and freaked out hadn't helped.

 

But Jin was too angry with himself, and had already stood up and turned around. He didn't want Kazuya to see how humiliated he felt.

 

"Jin... you're making a fuss for nothing. It's gonna be alr..."

 

"Stop trying to reassure me, okay?!" He shouted.

 

Kame felt his blood run cold.

 

"No need to get so aggressive. i was only trying to help." he  replied icily.

 

Since Jin wouldn't talk, he started putting the room in order, picking up all the empty sweets packages they'd left on the floor.

 

"Leave it... you don't have to do this..." Jin said, his voice less tense.

 

But Kame ignored him and continued tidying up, so Jin started helping. Moments later, he spoke up again, regret written all over his face.

 

"Kazu, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have got angry with you."

 

Kame simply shrugged, biting his lip. He was still too pissed at Jin for now, so he took the trash bag and walked away with a "good night", avoiding his eyes the whole time.

 

Jin's reaction had made him uncomfortable. But above all, he was scared. Scared because it wasn't just to help Jin that he'd offered a second kiss.

 

***

 

Jin was pacing in his room, his head in his hands. Not only he hadn't solved his problem, he'd also potentially damaged his friendship with Kazuya.

 

Meanwhile, Kame was taking a shower and trying to pull himself together. His thoughts strayed back to Jin's words.

 

_"you're all sweaty and disgusting."_

 

As hot water poured over him, he couldn't help remembering the way he'd felt when Jin had settled over him, his muscles enveloping him... even without Jin's arms touching him. Just them being on each side of his body, contracted as they held Jin above him. Kame had suddenly felt a warm rush envelop him, his heart beating like crazy, losing all sense of where he was.

 No, it couldn't be. It had to be his tired body making his heart beat that way. After all he'd spent all afternoon dancing and was exhausted. 

 

Deny it all he could, deep down Kame knew something in him had changed.

 

***

 

That evening, sleep just wouldn't come. Kazuya decided to ignore certain newborn thoughts he wasn't ready to accept. He'd known Jin for a few years already, it made no sense for him to suddenly see him differently. No, it was probably due to his exhaustion and to the unusual situation they'd put themselves into.

It probably would've been the same with anyone else... wouldn't it?

 

All these questions made his head ache so he turned over to press his face into his pillow.

 He was just about to fall asleep when he heard the door open and close slowly. Kame groaned and turned his lamp on - unexpected nocturnal visits from other juniors were usually bad.

 

"Jin ??"

 

Jin stood there in his pyjamas, at the edge of his bed.

 

" ...Did you really cross the corridor in Snoopy pj's? Aren't you scared someone will see you?" Kame snorted.

 

"Shut up, baka" said Jin, a small smile on his lips. But his smile disappeared almost immediately, leaving a worried frown in its place.

 

"Kazu... I... I'm freaking out. i can't sleep. I was really dumb earlier, I'm sorry..."

 

Kame interrupted him with a sigh and lifted the duvet to invite Jin in. 

 

"You can stay here if you think it'll make you feel better."

 

Jin certainly looked like he needed company. Feeling depressed and staying alone never worked out well for him.

 

He slid under the covers and felt Kame's scent come over him as the latter leaned towards his lamp to turn it off.

 

They lay in silence for a while, but Jin soon couldn't hold it in anymore.

 

"What am I gonna do, Kame, when she tells everyone how terrible I..."

 

"Jin. She will like you no matter what." Kame said for the nth time that day, a little exasperated.

 

"But what if..."

 

Jin's words died in his throat as he felt Kame slide towards him again. Over him.

 

"Kazu what are you..."

 

"You've got until tomorrow to train."

 

Jin stared at him in the dark and bit his lip. He was apprehensive, given the disaster that had happened earlier.

 

"Just... leave it to me." Kame said softly, trying to calm him down. "Don't move." 

 

He was however far from calm himself, internally panicking as he realised just how much he craved to get even closer to Jin. But he somehow managed to not let it show.

 

Jin obeyed and tried to relax, waiting to see what his friend would do. 

 

Kame lowered his face towards him until he felt Jin's breath against his skin, and started softly pressing his lips to Jin's barely parted ones.

 

The latter let a surprised noise escape him but kept still. Kame went on, enjoying the feeling of Jin's lips between his, allowing himself to slip his tongue tentatively over that sensitive skin. 

 

Another surprised hum. 

But it definetely wasn't a sound of rejection.

 

Feeling bolder, Kame slowly deepened his kisses and dared go one step further, his tongue slipping past Jin's lips... finally, he let go of his last restraints, giving in to an urge he'd never expected to have. 

 

So this was what real kissing was, he thought, his skin tingling as his tongue met Jin's.

 

"...hmm."

 

His heart stopped when he heard Jin's satisfied sigh. And then immediately started beating like crazy.

 

When Kame raised his head back up, his eyes met Jin's - full of excitement.

 

"My turn! My turn!"

 

Trust Jin to respond to such a sensual moment with a childish voice, as if this was just a game. But after all, that was all it was.

Kame told himself such a thought shouldn't make him sad and pushed away all musing, for now. Now was a time to simply enjoy the moment.

 

Jin's enthusiasm made him smile.

 

The older boy rolled them both over so that he was now on top, but he got carried away in his move and ended up straddling Kame once more, pinning his arms above his head. 

 

Kazuya rolled his eyes.

"I should've known it wasn't your type to let yourself be dominated."

 

It's with a big winner smile that Jin imitated Kame's earlier words.

 

"Leave it to me~ Don't move!"

 

As Jin lowered his happy grin towards Kazuya, the younger tried to not let the butterflies in his stomach show.

 

Jin started off by barely brushing his lips against Kame's without doing anything else.

Kame held his breath, letting the sensations sink in.

 

Jin then copied what had been done to him earlier, trapping Kame's thin lips between his own, slowly, sensually. His tongue briefly swept accross Kazuya's expectant mouth he was slowly discovering. His caresses became more daring as his teeth grazed against Kame's lower lip.

 

When their tongues finally met, Kame couldn't hold back and responded.

 

"Cheater!" Jin protested.

 

"...Do you really think Shizu is gonna stay motionless when you kiss her like that?"

 

Kame dismissed images of his friend kissing his girlfriend to the back of his mind. He really didn't want to let such thoughts ruin the moment.

 

Jin just chuckled and re-captured Kame lips between his, this time immediately deepening their now shared kiss.

He let go of Kazuya's arms, his hands finding his and pressing them into the mattress, on either side of their bodies. Their fingers entertwined, Kame felt like he'd felt back in Jin's room, only better : envelopped in Jin's embrace, a hot feeling rushing through him. His heart was beating faster than ever and his lips left Jin's only for air. If only this could go on forever.

 

Jin on the other hand was relieved. Relieved that kissing was more than that awkward experience they'd shared in his room. He enjoyed teasing Kame with his tongue, hearing him gasp, kissing him slowly, then suddenly more aggressively, until they were both out of breath. All this was new and fun... and very enjoyable.

 

Suddenly Kame felt Jin's warmth leave him : the older one had rolled to the side, a very satisfied grin on his face, his eyes still just as happy and excited.

 

"Man... Kazu, I really think Shizu won't understand what hits her tomorrow." He said, with a snigger.

 

Kame had to take a breath to gather his spirits. How could Jin talk so... normally. As if nothing unusual had happened. But is wasn't for nothing Kame was one of the best in acting class. He smirked and replied in a teasing voice :

 

"And all that thanks to who?"

 

For a second, Kame thought he almost saw a flicker of something in Jin's gaze. Was it shyness? But Jin immediately went back to his usual carefree self.

 

"Thanks to Kazu-chaan~" he said, giving Kame a bright smile. The room was dark but Kame could've sworn he'd spotted a blush there.

 

Jin stretched and yawned, his eyes blinking from tiredness. Kame felt anything but sleepy, but he still let himself sink into the mattress, trying to relax. Images of what had just happened kept replaying in his mind.

 

"Good night, Kazu..." , came a whisper, a few moments later.

 

The mattress dipped, as Jin crawled back to his side.

Lips brushed lips once more, and Kame felt the butterflies in his stomach return. 

 

The feeling was however short-lived, as Jin moved promptly back to his side of the bed.

 

"Good night, Jin." Kame answered, lost in thought.


	2. Chapter 2

Kame woke up alone. Jin had left early enough so that no one would see him cross the corridors. He was probably ashamed of being seen in his Snoopy nightclothes.

 

Kame smiled and slowly stretched his arms, rather reluctant to leave the warmth of his bed. Memories of the previous evening came back to his mind. He rolled over to bury his face in his pillow once again, as he remembered Jin gently nipping at his lips, grinning as if this were just another childish game.

 

He realised he'd probably been spending way too much time with his face buried in his pillow since yesterday afternoon, so he suddenly threw the duvet off the bed and jumped up.

 

"It's enough. I need to pull myself together," he told himself, "I probably just feel this way because that was my first experience with someone else... There's nothing more to it." 

 

He quickly got dressed and left to have some breakfast.

When he arrived in the hall, an announcement was being made. Yamapi waved at him and showed him an empty spot beside him.

 

"What's going on?" He asked, as he slid onto the bench next to his friend.

 

"We've been selected with a bunch of other juniors for some filmed stuff in town this afternoon." Yamapi answered, "... you've also got a TV show tomorrow by the way."

 

"...did they really have to put all this stuff in a row... when will I get to do my school homework."

Kame muttered.

 

"I sure don't envy you for tomorrow's filming. You and Jin are gonna be dead after Shizu's party."

 

Kame blinked.

 

"What are you talking about?"

 

Yamapi shook his head.

 

"Don't tell me you forgot about tonight. There will be lots of pretty girls~" He said with a meaningful grin.

 

"Ha... I see why you're in such a good mood then." Kame replied with a grin. "It's not every day we see you so full of energy so early in the morning! However... I'm not sure I'm coming tonight."

 

That's when Jin sprung out of nowhere and messed his hair up.

Kame squeaked.

 

Jin knew perfectly well with how much care he arranged his hair in the morning - especially if it was a gel day.

But the more Kame spent time on his hairdo, the more Jin seemed to enjoy destroying it.

 

"Jin stop it!!" Even without turning around, Kame knew it was him. His bubbly laughter gave him away anyway.

 

Jin couldn't help laughing some more as Kazuya helplessy tried to save what was left of his hairstyle.

He then collapsed next to them onto the bench, clearly wishing he was still in bed.

 

"Kazu you're no fun. If you don't come... I'm not talking to you anymore."

 

Kame finally faced him. Jin was doing his sulky pouting face, like almost every morning. He really hated waking up early and was easily irritated at that time of the day.

 

"In case you missed it, we've got a TV show to film tomorrow. At least one of us ought to not be dead tired."

 

"You're too serious Kazu."

 

"And you're too naughty," Yamapi interrupted. "But I can see why you don't want to miss your first evening with Shizu. We'll all be watching you..." he added ominously.

 

"Baka." Jin replied and hit him.

He then turned to Kame who was already getting up.

 

"Where are you going?!"

 

"I've got class. See you later!" he replied and walked away.

 

But Jin followed him out and caught his arm. His sulky face abandonned, a worried one in its place.

 

"Please come to the party tonight... what will I do if I make a fool of myself in front of everyone. I need your support!"

 

"You won't make a fool of yourself. Actually..." Kame smirked. "I'm in a good position to know you'll do more than fine."

At that Jin smiled and looked a bit embarrassed. Finally a sign that Jin remembered.

 

"Yeah, well... it won't be the same. Please come. If you don't -" he hummed, trying to think of a worthy menace. His eyes lit up as he stepped closer to murmur "If you don't, you won't benefit from any teasing from me anymore."

 

Benefit from teasing? What the hell was that supposed to mean.

But then Jin stepped even closer and sensually bit his lower lip, thus making sure his friend had no doubt what he was talking about.

 

Kame suddenly felt very warm and immediately hated himself for reacting that way. But he quickly regained his senses.

 

"Don't try to switch roles, Jin. If there had to be some taunting... I'm the one who helped you out, not the other way round."

 

Jin's smile fell as he realised his menace had failed. 

 

"Ok well... then I'll never ask you for help again." he mumbled moodily.

 

Kame couldn't help rolling his eyes at such silly logic.

 

"Jin. You'll have to work on your means of pressurizing people, 'cause you're clearly..."

 

"I get it, ok?" Jin interrupted irritably. "I'll go alone."

 

He was about to leave, but this time it was Kame who held him back.

 

"I'll come," he sighed as he gave in. "Can't leave a bakanishi like you all alone, with no one watching over you."

 

Jin couldn't stay angry. He hated losing arguments, but he knew Kame just liked to tease him and would never willingly ridicule him.

 

He let out a cry of victory, excitement back in his voice.

"I knew you'd come! Let's meet after your class, I heard the staff is taking us shopping - you can help me choose my clothes for my date."

 

"Silly..." he muttered. "See you later!"

 

Kame watched Jin walk away, his heartbeat slowly going back to its normal rythm. He hadn't dreamt it all, Jin had insinuated that last night's kisses wouldn't be the last...

He brushed his hand through his hair, deep in thought. He was starting to lose hope that his thoughts would ever go back to normal. How long would he be able too keep the reactions Jin got out of him hidden?

 

Singing class went by quickly, all the more so since Kame dreaded its end, for he'd then have to confront Jin again.

Since when did he dread seeing his best friend? It was a strange mixture of looking forward to further encounters and dreading them. All these contradicting thoughts were frustrating, and Kame hoped that seeing Jin with Shizu would end this. He just wanted his carefree frienship back instead of  whatever this inner turmoil was.

 

***

 

He met Jin, Yamapi and Ryo near the entrance to the headquarters, along with a few other juniors he wasn't familiar with and a camera crew. One of the staff members explained what was expected from them. 

 

"Just act as if we weren't there, we'll select the best parts later. A bit of extra teasing wouldn't hurt - the fans always love that." He added with a smile, eyeing Jin and Yamapi in particular. He knew those two loved teasing everyone.

 

And so, the team left to go shopping.

Jin took advantage of what had been requested of him to mess Kame's hair up further, and Kazuya tried once again to get his hair back in style by checking his reflection in the metro's windows. Ryo cackled and imitated him by checking himself out too. Jin's smile fell when he realised Kame was gradually really getting pissed. Maybe it was time to stop with the teasing... he knew Kame's limits better than anyone.

 

When they finally arrived at the mall, the staff asked them not to scatter too much, but Jin had already run down one of the store sections.

 

While the oldest filled his arms with clothes, Kame spent more time chosing his. He wasn't one to spend hours in fitting cabins, although he had a feeling he'd be spending a lot of time there today because of his best friend. He chose some slim torn jeans and a black tank top, along with a leather jacket. Being the youngest didn't mean he couldn't try on cool clothes too. He also snatched up a few shirts before heading to the cabins. Yamapi and Ryo were already there, all serious and concentrated for once : Pi was carefully listening to Ryo's clothing advice. Kame snorted at the sight and walked into a free cabin. 

 

As he started going through the clothes he'd picked, he realised the shirts were too large... he quickly took them back off and tried on the child-size tank top. And it was just right, the material hugging his slim body nicely. 

 

Kame almost jumped in surprise when he heard Jin's voice on the other side of the curtain. 

 

"You look much better in this. The shirts were way too big and loose."

 

Kame turned around and realised that Jin had been lounging on the sofa in the fitting area all that time, watching him through the space between the curtain and the wall.

 

"Baka, you could've told me you were watching," he muttered.

 

Kame thanked the gods he hadn't taken dumb poses in front of the mirror, like he sometimes did when alone.

 

"Come on, we all know you're no prude. There's nothing to be shy about, we're all guys here."

 

"...remind me, who's too shy to go to a party alone tonight?" 

 

Jin rushed up from his seat to silence Kazuya before anyone would hear him.

 

Once in the fitting cabin he whispered through gritted teeth, "please, don't say stuff like that in front of everyone." 

 

Kame frowned.

"You don't seem to mind humiliating me sometimes..."

 

What had happened on the train was still on his mind. Ruining his hair once may be okay, but today... it had been too much and he was still irritated.

 

"But... it was just for fun..." Jin answered. Regret was starting to show.

 

Kame shrugged and tugged the leather jacket on his shoulders.

He checked his reflection while adjusting the collar.

 

Meanwhile Jin felt his heart sink. He really hadn't intended to seriously piss his friend off and felt the urge to somehow make up for it.

 

Kame was taken by surprise when he felt arms circle his back as Jin pulled him into a hug.

 

The oldest was seldom that affectionnate, but that seemed to be changing lately.

He generally saved such demonstrations for moments when Kame seemed to question their friendship. Because Jin really didn't want to lose that.

 

"I'm sorry" he mumbled, with a sad pout. As he rested his chin on Kame's shoulder, he gazed at the younger's reflection.

 

Kame closed his eyes and took a breath. Of course Jin would resort to the kind of pleading face no one could resist. An angelic face that barely hid the bakanishi demons within. He couldn't deny Jin's arms felt nice and comforting too...

 

"Ok." he sighed. "Now go try your date outfits." He said and turned around to face him.

 

Jin was relieved to see a smile slowly creep back on Kame's face and hurried out to fetch the clothes he'd picked... and  came straight back.

 

"Jin... you can have your own cabin, you know."

 

"I know. But I need your advice to choose the best outfit to make Shizu like me."

 

Kame rolled his eyes. How many times would they have to go through this. He sat down on a stool in the cabin's corner and waited.

 

He didn't want to watch his friend change but due to all the mirrors, no matter where he looked he saw Jin.

The latter tried a dozen horrible outfits on... that he swiftly dismissed after seeing Kame's perplexed look.

 

Kazuya finally got tired of it and walked out to find something better suited for the occasion.

 

Maybe Jin hadn't been entirely wrong to ask him for help.

 

He snatched a white tshirt with a v-neckline and some grey jeans. They weren't anything fancy, but they were better fitted than Jin's usual baggier style - he could make an exception for one evening.

 

When he brought the clothes to his friend, the latter seemed to doubt.

But he still pulled them on.

 

Kame's eyes got stuck on Jin's arms. It was hard not to let his appreciation show, what with those sleeves snugly surrounding nice muscles. Jin may not have muscles as big as older Johnny's but... he still filled that tshirt out very nicely.

The jeans also looked great.

 

Kame turned around to face the wall, once he'd found the excuse of putting the leather jacket back on the hanger.

He took advantage of the moment to try to pull himself together.

Maybe it was a good thing Jin didn't always wear fitting clothes.

 

"Well?" Jin asked expectantly. "Am I to die for?" he joked.

 

"Baka..." Kame said as he turned back to him, trying to look neutral. "I think it'll do."

 

"I don't want an outfit that simply 'will do'. I need to be perfect enough for her eyes to see only me!"

 

"...don't worry." Kame answered, torn between exasperation and the urge to laugh. "If you dance and shake your ass dressed like that, I'm pretty sure she won't be able to resist."

 

Jin laughed and couldn't refrain from shaking his hips in front of the mirror and jokingly winking at himself.

 

He knew he didn't have to worry about acting silly with Kame. They did it all the time. (Okay, maybe he did a bit more than Kame).

That didn't stop Kame from snorting at the sight.

 

"Jin are you so desperate to seduce someone that you have to wink at yourself?!"

 

"...can't help it. I'm just too irresistable in this outfit - you said so yourself~"

He smirked.

 

Kame raised his eyebrows. "If you say so."

 

A few moments later, Jin tried to undress but was confronted to some complications.

 

"Ugh. Fucking shirt. I've never worn anything so tight." He muttered.

 

He somehow managed to get his arms stuck in the air.

"Um..."

 

He looked like he was going to resort to some embarrassing tugging and pulling.

 

"Kame, don't look," he muttered as he bent over, trying to use gravity to help him out.

 

Kame chuckled.

 

"Don't be silly. I'm here, I might as well make myself useful"

 

Jin stopped moving.

"...thanks."

 

"...such a bakanishi..." Kame mumbled to himself as he stepped towards him.

 

"I heard that." came a muffled reply, followed up by Jin struggling once more to free himself on his own.

 

But his head and arms were still stuck and he almost lost balance, barely missing the wall.

 

Kame couldn't help laughing.

 

"Jin... just stay still and let me take care of it." he said as he tugged at the clothing to finish freeing Jin's head.

 

 "Better." Jin admitted, once he could finally properly breathe.

 

Kame felt his heart clench at the sight of a blushing and messy-haired Jin. All the more with the warm grateful look he was getting.

 

Kame's eyes stayed stuck on him for a few moments, Jin's arms still stuck in the tshirt behind him. Seeing Jin up close like that unsettled him because his heartrate seemed to have decided to react against his will again. Kame blinked and pulled his eyes away, deciding that he'd spent enough time gazing at his friend and that it was time to free him. However, once the tshirt pulled away, Jin stayed in the small space between the wall and Kame and let his own gaze wander back on Kazuya's face.  The latter suddenly feared that he'd openly stared at his older friend for too long and was now being scrutinized for an explanation. He stepped back.

 

But to his surprise Jin followed and snaked his arms around his neck. The eldest drew closer, his eyes checking Kame's for any sign of rejection. But Kame did nothing so Jin stopped hesitating and let his instincts guide his lips to Kazuya's.

 

Too surprised to react, Kame didn't move at first. To tell the truth, despite Jin's earlier insinuations, he hadn't expected them to kiss again so soon. Even less so in a mall.

 

Jin drew him out of his thoughts with a small bite.

"Hey. We're not at the 'don't move' stage anymore"

 

 Kame felt Jin's smile against his lips and felt so much affection towards him that he was unable to hold back anymore. The youngest pushed him flush against the wall, smiling in turn before kissing him slowly.

 

...This time he was no longer lost in his thoughts, everything was clear. He needed Jin. Needed to feel him against him, in his arms. To feel his lips, his tongue. There was no point denying it anymore. Jin laughed and happily responded, yesterday's awkwardness long forgotten. Now they knew why people said kisses were great.

 

Jin needed to have at least some illusion of control over the situation so he pushed Kame backwards and down onto the stool. He then lowered himself in his lap - his mouth never leaving the youngest's.

 

Kame held back a gasp of surprise... what was Jin doing?! He retaliated by sensually biting him and slightly dug his nails into Jin's back. The latter arched in surprise, inching closer to Kazuya.

 

 "...Kazu-chan... you surprise me sometimes" he breathed before kissing him again.

 

"Stop smiling all the time, I can't kiss you properly" Kame protested.

 

"Sorry" Jin answered but then both couldn't help laughing stupidly.

 

Soon, Kame was kissing him with such enthusiasm that Jin was too busy to smile. 

 

When they finally parted for air, Jin sighed happily.

 

"I've got a feeling Shizu is just gonna die from all the perfect kissing I'll give her."

 

Kame felt his lungs instantly empty but hid it well. That's when they heard Pi & Ryo call for them in the store. The staff was visibly looking for them.

 

"Oops..." Jin said with a guilty smile. They hurried out with the clothes they'd chosen and joined the others to check out.

 

Kame wasn't listening to anything that was going on around them anymore. All he heard was his heart beating.

 

No no no. It just couldn't be. He tried to reason himself, tried to make his thoughts stray away from Jin, but in vain. No matter where he looked, all he could see and think was Jin.

 

Every detail about his friend made his heart squeeze and immediately made him feel warm. As soon as his eyes met his gentle gaze, his smile, Kame felt weak.

 

Once they were back in the metro, Kazuya stood slightly apart from them, his forehead resting against the cold window. He thought that he'd finally find peace behind closed eyelids, but Jin's face still kept invading his thoughts. There was nothing he could do about it.... he was completely obsessed with him. How could he ever go back to a simple and carefree frienship now. He seriously needed to be jolted back to reality.

 

He froze when he felt a hand lay on his shoulder and was relieved when he saw it was just Ryo.

 

"Kame... are you OK?" he looked worried.

 

"Sure," Kame lied. "I'm just... a bit anxious about tomorrow's TV show."

 

Ryo smiled reassuringly.

"Don't worry, tonight we'll have lots of girls and lots of alcohol to make you forget all about what bothers you." He didn't say anything about it, but he had a feeling Kame wasn't telling him everything.

 

Tonight's party... that was the last thing in the world Kame wanted to think about. It was anything but a calming thought.

 

He nonetheless went back to sit with the others, and answered Jin's worried look with a smile.  Hopefully he wouldn't have to play a role for much longer. He would have liked to make these new feelings disappear because all they did was mess him up. But the more he watched Jin, the more he realised how quickly his feelings were growing. It was like a vital urge he constantly had to fight.

 

Kame closed his eyes for the rest of the trip, his thoughts dwelling on the long night ahead.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It took me a bit longer than expected to translate this one.  
> Going through these chapters years after initially writing them reminds me how unfamiliar I was with JE at the time... (over 6 years ago)
> 
> And I wad clearly too influenced by all the Harry Potter fic I used to read xD (with dorms, great halls...)  
> I hope you're enjoying it so far :).  
> Thanks for waiting!


	3. Chapter 3

Alone in his room, Jin was arranging the last details for the evening. He was rather satisfied with the outfit Kame had picked for him after all, and hoped Shizu would like it too. His thoughts strayed back to the fun afternoon he'd had, to those few minutes in the fitting cabins...

He'd always loved teasing Kame - his embarrassed faces amused him to no end. But he'd never imagined that he'd one day end up sharing those kind of moments with his best friend.

It was entertaining; acting silly in secret was one of his specialties. But he also couldn't deny it was a particularly enjoyable way of teasing Kame... and not just for the fun part. 

 

He was arranging his hair when Yamapi came in.

 

"Ready for a crazy night out?" the newcomer said, "I'm counting on you to get everyone in party mode!"

 

Since Jin didn't answer, he went on.

 

"Don't tell me your hair obsession rivals with Kame's. Or I'll just have to start messing yours up too."

 

At those words, Jin immediately dropped his hands. He knew Pi was joking, with no bad intention. But... deep down he wished Pi would chose someone else than Kame to be the butt of his joke.

 

As soon as his eyes fell on Yamapi, his frustration was forgotten. 

 

"The fuck, Pi, what happened to your hair?! Is that... orange?!"

 

"Shut up, it's blonde."

 

Jin burst out laughing. Yamapi could talk, he was worse than them all.

Pi ignored him and joined him in front of the mirror to check his hair. It was serious business.

 

"Girls love muscular blondes. You should dye your hair too." he murmured, his cheek pressed against Jin's. Jin made a noncommital sound, unconvinced.

 

Yamashita then noisily flopped onto the bed to wait. "Hurry up, we're supposed to leave soon."

 

Akanishi continued to get ready while Yamapi flipped through the pages of a pervy magazine Jin had sneaked in the dorm.

 

Tonight was the night, and despite all the help Kame had given him, Jin was still terribly nervous. What if Shizu ended up changing her mind? What if... he found himself unable to kiss her? The same thoughts that had been troubling him from the start were driving him mad.

 

Yamapi realised something was wrong when his friend hadn't moved an inch for several minutes. He guessed what was bothing him when he saw his nervous look in the mirror.

Pi also realised this wasn't a good moment to make fun of him, so he decided it was time for some support.

 

Jin was torn from his thoughts when he felt cold glass against his arm : Pi was offering him a bottle he'd just opened (and tasted, according to his wet lips).

 Jin raised an eyebrow in question. 

 

"Come on, we all need some liquid courage when we start off," Pi said.

 

"Baka..." Jin muttered, but he took the bottle nonetheless.

 

With a bit of luck, it would make it easier for him to have as good a time with his girlfriend as what he'd had with Kame.

 

A few gulps later, he felt his body warm up.

 

"Hey Jin," Pi suddenly asked. "Have you ever kissed a girl?"

 

It was a genuine question, he wasn't even teasing. But Jin was startled and started blushing.

 

"Of course. Who do you take me for," he lied. He usually never lied to Yamapi, but this time... he couldn't really tell the truth. 

He tried to convince himself  there was nothing wrong with a small distortion of what had really happened. Kissing Kame and kissing a girl couldn't be that different, could it?

He was having trouble thinking straight on the topic, especially since he took another swig to hide his embarrassment.

 

"No reason to get all defensive." Pi replied as he snatched the bottle back.

 

"I'm not!" Jin muttered and he snatched it back.

 

"Well you're bothered enough to drink most of my bottle... you're buying the next one."

 

Jin's eyes sent him daggers.

 

"Anyway. Come on, let's go get Kame."

 

***

 

Even though the time to go was drawing near, Kame still hadn't put his outfit on. He really didn't want to go watch Jin make a spectacle of himself. Part of him hoped that if he stayed in his room, the others would leave without him. But his hopes evaporated when a knock came at his door.

 

Before he had time to even get up, Jin and Pi broke into the room, the first looking furious, the second amused.

 

"What are you waiting for?! Do you want us to arrive late or what?!" Jin exclaimed.

 

"I think he's afraid he'll be bored... he's too young to party. Aren't you, Kamenashi-kun?" Yamapi teased.

 

"Sure. Because you're so much older than me." Kame replied with an eyeroll.

 

"Kame!" Jin interrupted. "If you don't get dressed up right now, we... we'll make you."

 

Since Pi was drawing near with a suspicious smirk on his lips, Kame jumped straight out of bed.

 

"Baka. You'll see who the kid is and who's not tonight." Kame said defiantly.

 

He however almost immediately regretted his words. It would totally be like Yamapi to keep an eye on him all night to check if he'd be true to his word.

 

Pi laughed and pulled Jin towards the door.

"Ok well... We'll be waiting for you by the exit."

 

Jin reluctantly followed, but not without sending dark glances at Kame. The latter understood that if he didn't come, Jin would personally make sure he regretted it.

 

***

 

One hour later, they arrived in front of a great and beautiful villa. The Kitagawas were definitely very rich to own such a big house in the middle of town.

 

Their bags were taken to the first floor where they were expected to spend the night.

They were then guided to a huge garden, lit up by just a few torches. It all gave out a mysterious  aura, what with the sparse lighting,  sinewy paths and dark corners. Music resonated through the whole house and on the terrace where many people had already arrived. Kame had no idea who most of them were. He'd actually never been to a big house party and suspected that he wouldn't have been invited if it hadn't been for Jin. He quickly realised he was one of the youngest guests.

 That's when Shizu finally appeared.

 

"Here you are! Finally!"

She was radiating.

 

She wore a cream bustier dress, its silk layers arranged in elegant folds. Her long wavy hair fell down to the small of her back and was decorated with an ivory flower. Her matching pearl earrings complimented her outfit, as well as her luminous makeup and warm smile. She was beautiful, Kame couldn't deny it. But he also couldn't help feeling his guts twist when he saw Jin get all starry eyed.

 

"Don't just stand there, come get something at our buffet~" she said as she took Jin's hand to guide him. Jin almost tripped in surprise but he followed her with a smile.

Yamapi followed their tracks and didn't even bother hiding his admiration towards Shizu, which made Kame and Ryo exchange looks and snort.

 

***

 

Kame and Ryo were enjoying their evening at a strategic spot -the buffet- when they heard people start clapping and shouting. After sharing a curious glance, they decided to investigate.

 

When they finally found where the noise came from... they also found their fellow junior friends.

Pi and Jin were emptying one glass after another, giggling and keeping a challenging eye on each other.

They got all the encouragement they needed with all the girls around them cheering them on. Kame knew that despite the cool airs Jin gave himself, the latter was easily influenced in situations like these and would end up accepting any challenge the group would give him.

Yamapi knew he was like that too... so why didn't he get them both out of there? 

« JIN ! JIN ! JIN ! JIN ! » they all chanted at every gulp, and Jin kept drinking, glad of the attention he was getting. Reason told Kame to go stop him, but he didn't want to be a killjoy - he wasn't responsible for Jin's actions anyway. Part of him almost envied his ability to let go and act without thinking sometimes. He was drawn away from his thoughts when Ryo handed him a drink. They clinked glasses and turned away from the baka pair to watch the rest of the party.

 

"Pfft look at that," Ryo drawled, moments later. "they can't dance. Look at the lame moves."

 

A few girls were moving their shoulders to the music, but they seemed so preoccupied about their hair and outfits that they looked ridiculous. They obviously had a high opinion of themselves and seemed to think  smiling was below them.

If this was what parties were like, then Kame hadn't missed much.

Also... the thought that he and Jin were probably better at hiprolls than them was amusing.

These girls were boring. Maybe it was because Kame was still young, but he saw nothing sensual about them.

The truth was... he'd never found a girl all that hot.

Pretty, yes. But none had made him feel any physical attraction towards her. Ryo shared his criticism and barely bothered to keep his voice down.

 

After a second glass, Kame thought it was time for him to let go and have some fun too.

 

"Let's show them what real dancing is," he told Ryo with a smirk. The latter was surprised but he was glad to have an excuse to get away from the spectacle Jin and Pi were making of themselves.

 

They went deeper into the crowd where more people were dancing and let the music and antmosphere take them over. Their moves soon made it obvious that they knew what they were doing. Kame closed his eyes and felt the hot night air on his skin, all thoughts leaving him. At least the music was good, and dancing was what he loved. Johnny's may not have the best reputation for dancing skills, but Kame and Ryo made the party attendees reconsider. Smooth moves, gracious gestures. They didn't even need to be beautiful - the dancing did it all. Soon the music changed and more people joined the dancing area. Kame and Ryo decided a duet would be more small-space friendly. They both simply let the music guide them and had no second thoughts when they started dancing together, close up. It's not like Juniors never did that - even though those moves rarely left the practise room. 

 

"You should give those girls dancing lessons," Ryo said. Kame smiled at the compliment - that is, until he heard the rest. "You've got the moves... but they've got the hot ass. Your bony little..."

 

Kazuya elbowed Ryo in the ribs.

"Ow! What was that for?!"

 

"Shut up, and just dance."

 

Ryo obeyed. Nishikido may be an asshole. But he was a good dancer, and right now Kame just wanted to enjoy the night with a friend.

 

He closed his eyes and didn't even realise some people where eyeing them suspiciously. One pair of eyes in particular.

  

***

 

Shizu had pulled Jin away from his drinking game to the dance floor. He was smiling at her sweetly, and sometimes mumbled a joke in her ear. She laughed at looked back at him with obvious admiration. Jin couldn't help smiling a bit smugly. She liked him, she really did. And judging by her blush, she seemed to like his smug face very much.

 

However Jin's smile disappeared when he spotted Kame over his girlfriend's shoulder. He gently tugged her closer in his arms so that she wouldn't see his change of mood.

 

He just... couldn't take his eyes off Kame. How could he... how did Kame dare dance up close to Ryo like that. He'd never done that with Jin. And they were best friends. They'd promised that they'd always teach each other new moves first... try them together first. Jin felt betrayed and told himself he'd remind Kame of his promise.

 

Out of nowhere, he suddenly needed to feel Shizu closer. Her arms were around his neck and her body fit nicely against him. She really was beautiful. He brushed her hair out of her face, and as his breath tickled her cheek she looked a bit nervous. But also expectant.

 

The moment he'd been fearing had finally come. But he wasn't nervous anymore. She smiled at him shyly - he smiled back. Then captured her lips in an innocent kiss. 

 

It wasn't innocent for long, since as soon as her lips parted Jin slipped his tongue inside... Shizu held him tighter and felt her knees weaken. She'd waited for this moment for so long... 

 

***

 

When Kame opened his eyes, the peace he'd felt at dancing with his friend immediately left him : Jin was dancing behind Shizu, up close. His arms were around her waist, hands sliding  to her hips to sensually follow her moves.

 

Kame felt that same unusual sensation he'd felt when Jin had first leant down over him back at their dorm. That warm rush, his heart beating faster. His head was spinning. He'd never realised just how beautiful Jin could be when he danced. Of course, he'd already thought that Jin looked good before. But this was a whole new level of good. A whole new level of sensual. Fuck, Jin was so sensual. His hips moving suggestively in time with his partner's. His lips he now knew so well... Kame drank it all in. He didn't want to miss a second of these moments that just kept getting him more and more worked up. The one thing he'd been both looking forward to and fearing finally happened - he didn't even realise his own lips had parted in desire when Jin kissed her. A breath left him when he saw their kiss deepen. When he saw Jin's fingers caress her face, her neck.

 

He was so obsessed with the sight before him and how hot it looked that he didn't realise Ryo was watching him. 

 

"Kame. You'd better avoid looking at your best friend's girlfriend like she's candy. She's gorgeous but... keep your thoughts to yourself."

 

It was like a cold shower. Horribly ashamed, Kame mumbled something about getting a drink and promptly walked away.

 

But Ryo wouldn't let go and followed him to the buffet.

Kame leant on the table and tried to pull himself together. Then he took a glass and emptied it in one go so that he wouldn't have to meet Ryo's inquisitive gaze.

 

"So." Ryo said. "You like Shizu too..." he shook his head. "You realise this can't end well - you're lucky Jin didn't see your face earlier."

 

"Shut up Ryo." Kame cut him off icily, "you've got it all wrong."

And he stormed away into the garden.

 

Now that Kame's excitement was gone, pleasure didn't blind him anymore and only frustration remained.

He walked into the darkness, without paying much attention to where he was going.

The beat of the music resonated out there too, but the sounds were muffled by the wind and the trees. The torches in the garden crackled. Kame breathed deeply and tried to calm down.

He lied down in the cold grass, which cooled his hot skin a little. His eyes fixed on the night sky, he thought back to what he'd just witnessed. The mere memory was enough to bring back that rush. And it was even worse when he thought back to the feeling of Jin's lips against his own. Jin making him roll over in bed so that he could explore his mouth. Jin just freed from his tshirt in the fitting room, his hair all messy.... Kame saw only him. His head was spinning and it felt like an invisible weight was pressing him into the ground. He closed his eyes to reminisce... and quickly became breathless. Oh how he wanted Jin... he wanted him so much.

 

"Jin..." he murmured, somewhere between a gasp and a whisper.

 

His body gradually grew colder and brought him back to reason. Or as reasonable as he could be with his now clear understanding of his desires.

 

But Jin was his best friend. He had to learn to be happy for him, for his current relationship. Because Kame knew he could never give Jin what Jin was looking for. His best friend never stopped talking about girls, and given how good he looked... it was to be expected that he wouldn't stay single forever.

Kame didn't wish him to stay single anyway.

 

After long moments in thought in the grass, he finally got up to walk back to the house.

 

When he arrived back to the terrace, he found Yamapi dancing between a girl and Ryo, a bottle in his hand. Shizu was at the buffet with friends, but Jin was nowhere to be seen. 

 

After looking for him for a few minutes, Kame started to worry. He went up to Yamapi and shouted in his ear to be heard above the music :

 

"Where's Jin??"

 

Pi looked lost in thought and almost lost balance. He ended up pointing towards the corner of the house. "He went that way~" he slurred before giving all his attention back to the girl in front of him.

 

Kame left him to his dancing and followed his directions without waiting.

Once he got to the angle, he found a narrow and cold space between the house's wall and the neighbour's one. The lighting from the terrace barely penetrated in that area, so he didn't distinguish the shape on the ground straight away. He was horrified when he realised what it was.

 

"Jin!!"

 

He hurried to his friend's side, but as soon as he lay a hand on his shoulder, Jin pushed him away.

 

"Leave me alone ! Please... go away..." he pleaded. Just saying the words seemed to cost him a big effort, because he sank back to the ground and took his face in his hands.

 

Kame felt helpless... Jin suddenly heaved a short breath and turned against the wall, as if he wanted to hide.

 

With Jin's short breath and groans, Kame realised what was about to happen and leant at his side to hold his hair back. 

The older boy wouldn't look at him but Kame didn't let him go. Jin started over several times but Kame stayed put in spite of the unpleasantness of it. He held Jin through it all, keeping his hair out of the way, trying to help him relax with small strokes. When it was over, Jin tried to turn away from Kame to hide his teary face. But Kame didn't let him.

 

Jin wasn't usually a sad drunk but today seemed to be an exception. Maybe his evening hadn't been as great as Kame had thought?

 

Seeing him so vulnerable and anguished broke his heart, so the youngest pulled him into an embrace.

 

Holding on to Kazuya's clothes, Jin was unable to hold back tears of shame.

 

"I... I didn't want you to see me like this." he mumbled. "I'm so... fucking lame like this."

 

"Shh... don't say that," Kame said. He tightened his grip and carressed Jin's hair. "It's okay. I... I should've stopped you. I should've told you you didn't need that for Shizu to like you..."

 

"Don't talk to me about her!" Jin whined. "If she saw me now... how can I ever face her now ..."

 

 "Jin, don't worry about it. She hasn't seen anything. You should rest." Kame said softly to calm him.

 

A few minutes later he finally felt Jin's breath get steady and calm again. But he feared they'd catch a cold if they stayed there.

 

"Come on, we'll slip in the house to clean your face up." he murmured with an encouraging smile.

Jin inaudibly muttered something, but Kame suspected he was just too lazy to move. Being lazy was better than being sick so Kame guessed Jin certainly felt better.

 

They finally managed to both get up, Jin leaning on Kame, the latter holding him up as steadily as he could, with some difficulty - Jin was taller and heavier than him.

 

They entered the house discretely through the glass doors and into the living room.

 A few moments later, Kame helped Jin into one of the beds that had been made for them upstairs. He then left his side to get a wet towel and a glass of water. 

 

When he returned, Jin's eyes were closed. Kame sat down on the side of the bed and started gently wiping his face with the warm cloth. His relaxed face seemed so delicate, he looked so fragile.

 

When Jin opened his eyes, his gaze fell on Kame's. Embarrassed, the oldest promptly looked away.

 

"I'm never drinking again." He muttered.

 

"I somehow can't imagine you keeping such a promise."

 

Jin gave him an angry look, but he was more angry at himself than at Kame.

 

"You should rest, tomorrow you'll feel better. No one saw you, don't worry." Kame said soothingly.

 

"...someone did. You saw me."

Jin mumbled. He was still very pale.

 

"Hey, best friends are supposed to support each other," Kame replied, "I'm not here to judge you, we all make mistakes. And even if I wanted to give you a sermon, now wouldn't be a good time. Come on, go to sleep." He rearranged the duvet to tuck him in.

 

He was about to leave when he heard a barely audible : "Kazu..."

 

When he looked back he found a supplicating gaze. Jin's face was torn between his shame and his queasiness.

 

"I'm still not feeling great. I... I'd feel more reassured if you stayed. With me."

 

Despite his recent supplications, Jin was not a person who made a habit of begging. Seeing him like this worried Kame more than he showed it, so he turned off the light, undressed and slid between the covers beside his friend.

The latter immediately curled up against him to get some of his warmth. His face once again snuck against Kame's chest and his arms around him. 

 

Kazuya panicked at first, scared that Jin would feel how quickly his heart was beating, since his face was directly against his skin. But if Jin felt something, he did nothing about it. His eyes remained closed and he sighed while tucking himself more comfortably against him. His breath finally grew more regular and a few minutes later his firm grip became looser. 

 

Kame however didn't fall asleep straight away, too preoccupied by Jin's presence.  His slightly tickling breath, his arms nonchalantly thrown around him...  Kame knew these tender moments were rare and wanted to engrave them in his memory forever.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To be honest I'm not a fan of this chapter but I don't want to reinvent what I wrote in French all those years ago. I look forward to getting to later chapters - hopefully I won't have to keep you waiting for too long. Thanks for reading !!


	4. Chapter 4

Jin woke up first but kept his eyes closed for a few moments. The comfort and warmth of his bed was too good to be abandoned just yet. A few rays of sunlight crept through the curtains, slowly filling the room with a soft orange glow.

 

It took him a while to realise his comfort was partly due to another's presence near him: Kame moved in his sleep and made Jin's head shift. That's when he realised what he'd taken for a pillow was in fact Kame's tummy. Soft and warm skin... it was just perfect. As Jin rubbed his cheek on it to get more comfortable, he heard a muffled grunt and felt Kame start to stretch.

 

"Please don't move. Your tummy feels great." Jin mumbled, eyes closed.

 

Kame didn't answer immediately: it was too early for his brain to function properly. He finally opened his eyes to look at his friend. A treacherous angelic face. Treacherous, because Kame remembered the previous night's events and knew that Jin was no angel. So he decided not to push him away, as he would have in other circumstances - Akanishi probably needed a slow and gentle morning. Kazuya had to admit he rather enjoyed it too.

 

His musings were interrupted when Jin put his arms back around him to tuck his face more comfortably against his stomach.

 

This simple contact was so nice and gentle. Warm skin. Warm morning sunshine. Wrapped in the duvet, they were in their own little world.

 

"You know... you should get fatter. You'd make a better pillow then." Jin said, a smile on his lips.

 

Kame frowned.

"No one's keeping you here, look for someone else to snuggle up against. And I thought you said I felt great!"

 

At that, Jin just giggled.

"I can't... if I ask Yamapi he'll think I'm crazy. And Shizu, well... just this wouldn't be enough. It's only with Kazu that I can do this without getting any weird questions."

 

Jin finally opened his eyes to look back at Kame. Even though no _'Thank you_ ' left his lips, his gratitude for the previous night was obvious. He probably wasn't ready to talk about it yet so Kazuya decided not to mention it. Too lazy to move his arms, Jin tried in vain to blow away some hair that had somehow gotten in his face. Kame snorted at his disgruntled face, took pity over him and moved it out of the way for him. However, when he removed his hand, Jin looked disgruntled once more.

 

"Don't stop! I love it when people play with my hair."

 

Kame raised an eyebrow.

"People? Who, your mom?"

 

"Shut up... please, my head aches."

 

Since they were getting near dangerous territory - a conversation about last night - Kame complied and started playing with his hair. Jin relaxed one more on his tummy and smiled again.

 

Sometimes Kame wondered how he could be so different when they were alone and when everyone was around. What would the others say if they saw them like this now? but he was also glad that Jin allowed himself to be vulnerable with him. Glad he felt no need to act cool in his company.

 

Minutes passed by in silence, as Jin either sleepily closed his eyes or started into empty space. He was completely relaxed under Kame's slow caresses in his hair. They could've stayed like that for a long time, but they soon started to hear noise from the rest of the house as people were getting ready to leave.

They thus ended up parting to get ready too.

 

Jin sat up and although he tried not to let it show, Kame saw him grimace before he could act as if everything were fine.

 

When the older boy got to his feet his body swayed. Kazuya hurried up to help him but Jin pushed him away.

Akanishi closed his eyes and breathed slowly, trying to calm down.

 

"Sorry, I... I can manage on my own."

 

Kame bit the insides of his cheeks and said nothing. He should've remembered it always made Jin uncomfortable when he took his hand.

 

"I'm not a girl," the older muttered.

 

"Is that what you're gonna tell Shizu when she comes over and accidentally does... this?"

 

A touch on Jin's collarbone and he immediately shrieked.

 

"You know what?" Kame snorted, "sometimes I really wonder if you're not a girl after all."

 

Jin gave him a murderous glare and hurried out of the room.

 

***

 

Two days later, Yamapi, Jin, Ryo and Kame gathered in their common room to watch a movie. Jin had once more raided the kitchens and brought back cakes, chocolate, ice-cream… everything they loved. They started their DVD in peace, until Koki entered the room and jumped on the couch, squashing a few limbs in the process.

 

“So, Akanishi-kun,” Koki mused once the others had stopped protesting, squeezed between his friends, “Everyone is talking about the spectacle you made of yourself on the dancefloor. At that chick’s party. And not with someone random. A Kitagawa no less.”

 

Jin blushed as all gazes turned towards him.

 

“That’s not how I’d describe what happened.”

Most of the boys rolled their eyes.

 

“I’m sure you planned this all along to get into Johnny’s good favours.”

 

Jin grimaced and pushed Koki away.

“Shut up.”

 

Koki just smiled cockily. None of them were going to let Jin get away with this.

 

“Are you trying to hide something from us? You haven’t said a word since the party. Did something go wrong or what?”

 

Jin took a deep breath. Then a perverted grin slowly found its way on his face and the others cheered.

“Of course everything went fine, what do you think.”

 

And thus no one payed attention to the movie anymore: Jin spent the evening telling them how beautiful Shizu was, determined to prove that they couldn’t dream of a better girlfriend than his. Kame alone still stole a few glances at the screen, despite not being too concentrated on the plot.

He was glad for his friend’s happiness, but he also thought the latter was overdoing it. Koki and Yamapi nonetheless seemed to enjoy listening to him and his pervy details.

 

Kame was starting to wonder if there was something wrong with him: all these conversations about girls often bored him. Of course, he thought some girls were pretty, but it was a similar feeling to what he felt in front of a beautiful landscape. It was just admiration, without any desire. For a while he’d thought that was what desire was: admiration. But his senses had recently discovered that there was more to lust than that. It was obvious to him that there was a world of difference between the reactions Shizu provoked in him and the ones Jin did.

 

”Ugh and her body…” Jin’s continued with a content sigh, “she feels so good.”

 

Koki jumped off the couch in surprise while Yamapi raised his eyebrows. Kame whistled and pretended to be amused. No one had noticed his previous lack of attention.

 

“What?!” Koki exclaimed, “don’t tell me… the first night already… I’d never thought she’d be like that.”

Jin kicked him.

 

“Of course not, baka. It’s not what you think. But through a thin dress like what she was wearing… you can feel a lot of things.”

 

Ryo threw a pillow at him, tired of hearing him talk like that.

 

“OW what was that for?!” Jin cried.

 

“Don’t you hear yourself? You’re almost talking about her like she’s a thing and not a human being,” Ryo said grumpily. “I’m off to bed anyway, I’m tired. Good night.” And he got up and left.

 

“What the hell is wrong with him??” Jin asked, disbelieving.

 

“I don’t know. Probably jealous haha.” Pi answered, “he was unable to score at the party… that is, except Kame!” he said as he burst out laughing and Kazuya hit him.

 

“Ow, ow, time for me to go too before you kill me.” He said as he tried to escape Kame’s attacks. Pi left, quickly followed by Koki.

 

And so Kame and Jin ended up alone in the dark common room, the TV screen as their only light.

 

 

As soon as Pi and Koki were far enough, Jin let himself fall across the couch with a whine. 

 

“What’s wrong with you,” Kame asked. “Quit whining all the time.”

He grabbed a can of whipped cream and sprayed some in a teaspoon.

A comfy couch, a low table under his feet and yummy food: despite the earlier awkward discussions, this evening wasn’t turning out so bad, he thought as the sweet cream melted on his tongue.

 

Jin jumped back off the couch.

“Kame. Shizu needs your lessons!”

 

Kame stared at him. What the hell was wrong with him. For a second he wondered if he’d missed a bottle of vodka going around while he was zoning out.

 

“What are you talking about?”

 

Jin took his head in his hands in frustration and started pacing.

“Something must be done. Because right now… she’s nice but… bori…”

 

“Are you kidding?!” Kame interrupted, “You’ve just spent a full hour telling us all how perfect she is !!”

 

“Shhh!!!” Jin panicked. “They mustn’t know.” He then paused, as if he weren’t sure he should continue his confession. Kame’s disapproving face was not encouraging.

 

“How should I put this,” he paused thoughtfully. “You were right. She had no experience. I felt like I was kissing a hole, I swear.”

 

Kame made a face.

 

“Not… that.” Jin muttered. “You know what I mean.”

 

Kame just raised his eyebrows at him. Jin looked so distressed, it was almost amusing. The older looked at his friend expectantly, as if the latter could bring him a magical solution on a plate. But in the end the younger just giggled.

 

“It’s not funny!” Jin protested, but that only made Kame snort and almost choke on his whipped cream.

 

While he was coughing, Akanishi calmed down and conceded a smile.

 

“I chose the wrong words. But this is no laughing matter, I was serious. I felt nothing, it was boring! She was just… there and didn’t move. It was no fun,” he said as he grabbed a pillow and put it on Kame’s lap. He then proceeded to settle back on the couch and made himself at home – Kame ending up with Jin’s face looking up at him sleepily.

Those damn butterflies were immediately back at it in the younger’s stomach, but he tried to ignore them.

 

Kazuya sighed theatrically, and said: “What can I say… I’m not surprised that anyone would feel boring after me.”

 

Jin playfully punched him.

 

“Unless I’ve missed something, you have no butt and no boobs, so shut up. And give me the whipped cream.”

 

“You really think of nothing else, do you.” Kame replied.

 

“What? I always loved food, there’s nothing new there,” he said as he opened his mouth wide and waited for Kame to spray the cream straight into it.

 

Kazuya filled it up to make him stop talking.

 

“You know perfectly well what I meant.”

 

“mgph!”

 

Jin licked his lips and sighed contentedly.

He needed more sugar in his blood before getting into important conversations.

 

“When she’ll be more used to this… to kissing, to me… it’s gonna be just. perfect.” He blinked slowly, with a dreamy face and Kame rolled his eyes. “She’s just so… …I don’t know, when you see her, don’t you wish you could touch her?”

 

Kazuya eyed him wearily as Jin slid a hand on his own chest – probably daydreaming about his girlfriend’s breasts.

 

He didn’t answer. No, he didn’t particularly want to touch her. Was that not normal? Anyway, Jin didn’t seem to expect an answer, his eyes now closed while he kept touching himself. His head fell back on the other side of the pillow as his back settled over it instead.

It was so slow Kame had the time to think that no, Jin wasn’t going to… Yes, Jin was. His fingers slowly skimmed across his chest, more sensually than what he’d just done previously, thin cotton doing little to hide hardening nipples.

 

Kame took a breath, belately realising he’d stopped breathing for too long.

 

Jin slowly opened his eyes but he was obviously still in his own little world.

 

“You can’t imagine… that ass. It was so hot,” he murmured. Kame didn’t know about Shizu’s ass, but Jin’s face and voice were definitely doing things to him. “When she danced against me… she made me feel everything. E-verything.” The end of the sentence was barely more than a whisper.

 

Kame kept quiet. He didn’t know what to say. And he also didn’t trust his voice.

 

Jin sighed and arched his back a bit more. Kazuya’s eyes lingered on the the outlines of muslces, ribs. And of course… those nipples. Fuck. He squeezed his eyes shut. This couldn’t be happening.

 

“Kazu… I want her so bad.” Jin breathed. Kazuya felt his skin prickle. He definitely had it bad for his best friend, there was not point denying it.

 

When he reopened his eyes, he found Jin smiling at him.

 

“Good thing you’re a guy. If I did this in front of a girl, she’d probably take this as an invitation to fuck.”

 

Those words felt like a slap jolting Kame out of his reverie. Of course.

“You’re such an asshole.” Kame muttered, and he ate some cream straight from the can to hide his blushing face.

 

And those thoughts telling him Jin sounded hot saying ‘fuck’ needed to _shut up_ immediately.

 

However, Jin only chuckled in response.

“No one’s an asshole if everyone is okay with what’s going on.”

 

Kame huffed and tried not to notice all the ways his friend made him feel. The way he just ached to touch his hair again. To kiss those lips. Then his thoughts trailed back to those nipples.

 

The sound of Jin’s belt brought his attention back to what was happening. Kame’s brain was screaming at him to tell Jin off. To make him stop. But he was glued to the spot, unable to do or say a thing.

 

His throat turned dry as Jin unbuttoned his jeans and lowered the zipper. At least Jin wasn’t looking at him anymore.

 

Kame’s lips silently swore as Jin’s hand sank into his underwear.

The older was quieter than Kame would have expected. But just his slight moves and the knowledge that he was touching himself… Kame was imploding.

 

A noisy breath.

A flutter of eyelids.

Hips subtly rocking.

 

Oh fuck. Kame’s breath quickened as thoughts and impulses he’d never even contemplated before came to him. He wanted to touch Jin’s chest like that… and even though the thought was a bit scary, he wanted to touch Jin elsewhere too. Scary, because he’d never thought of guys that way. And he knew that wasn’t what Jin wanted.

 

Jin’s movements were getting quicker, and his breaths grew less quiet. Kame bit his lip and it took him all his mental strength not to move, no matter how much his body wanted to. Never had he been more thankful that there was a pillow between he and Jin. Otherwise Akanishi would have noticed that Kame wasn’t insensitive to his actions.

 

If Kazuya still had control over his own actions, he had none over his eyes and desperately needed to drink it all in. Jin’s body lying across him, his sensual parted lips and needy breaths.

His subtle hip moves intensified and Kame wanted to die. He wanted those hips to move just for him. He wanted Jin just for himself, damn it.

 

Kame bit back a whimper. He’d sworn to himself he wouldn’t make a noise but his body wouldn’t obey.

 

“Fuck… Kazu, if you knew how it was when Shizu rubbed herself against me…”

 

How could Jin talk in a situation like this when Kame himself was unable to utter a single word? Jin ended up relaxing on the pillow and his breath slowly went back to normal. Still, the slight tent in his underclothes was proof that he wasn’t done yet – for some reason, he’d decided to stop there and looked up at Kame with a smirk.

 

“Kazu-chan… if you were a girl, you’d currently be pressed into the couch and we’d be… having a really good time.”

 

Kame was speechless for a moment.

“Jin. You’re fucking crazy.” He finally croaked. Had Jin stopped because coming was where he drew the line? Kazuya wanted to push him away in frustration.

 

“I know,” Jin smiled, “but that’s why you love me.”

 

“Baka.” Kame sighed, and got nothing more than more laughter in reply.

 

“At least, I know how to eat properly.” Jin finally said, and at first Kame didn’t understand what he meant. “What did you empty the whole can on yourself for?!”

 

 _I was fucking distracted_ , Kame wanted to say but he couldn’t admit that. So instead he attacked Jin and sprayed what was left of the cream in his hair.

 

Jin shrieked and grabbed other food leftovers to throw them back at him.

 

“Fuck off you’re gonna ruin the couch and Johnny-san will kill us!!!”

 

“You think I care ?!”

 

The couch was still alright but Kame’s hair and shirt were not.

When Jin emptied a bottle of juice on him, Kame looked murderous.

Another shriek, crazy laughter and chairs falling over: no wonder someone would end up noticing that something unusual was going on.

 

The sound of the door slammed open stopped them in their tracks.

 

“Are you fucking mad ?!!!” Ryo snarled, “Some of us are trying to sleep here!”

He had a look at the disaster the common room had become, and added: “If there are cleaning fees, I’m not paying a cent and I’ll personally tell Johnny-san you’re responsible.”

 

“Killjoy.” Jin muttered.

 

Ryo turned his murderous glare to him. “Sorry to disappoint, but insults from people who have food fights with their pants open don’t mean much to me.”

 

Kame looked down and breathed when he saw nothing was wrong with his own clothes. Jin on the other hand just said “oh, right” and buttoned himself up as if there was nothing unusual about that.

 

Ryo still eyed them suspiciously.

 

“If you wanna join the fun…” Kame said, as he offered him a bottle.

 

“No way.” Ryo said and he slammed the door as he left.

 

When Kame and Jin’s eyes met, they burst out laughing.

They nonetheless ended up cleaning the mess as well as they could before leaving (Kame insisted).

 

***

 

They walked together to their rooms and when they arrived to Kame’s, the youngest wished their evening together could continue. He took a last look at Jin – it was unbelievable how he could still look gorgeous when his hair and clothes were a gross mess. Or maybe Kame was just an even more lost cause than before regarding his attraction to Jin. Afraid that he might give in to his desires and do something stupid, Kame wished him a good night and promptly closed the door behind himself.

 

Jin was a little surprised but shrugged it off and walked on to his own room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it took me so long to translate this one... thank you if you're still reading !  
> The purpose of this chapter was to show Kame coming to terms with his physical attraction to Jin, as in the fact that he consciously knows that he is attracted to him as a guy.
> 
> PS: when I wrote "Kame wanted to die", I obviously didn't mean it literally. If I find a better wording I'll probably end up replacing that sentence with a better one.
> 
> Sorry for the English mistakes, if you feel like pointing out any I'll gladly correct them.
> 
> Thank you for your patience! :)
> 
> In case there are a few French readers here who read the original version :  
> au fur et à mesure de ma traduction je supprime des phrases qui me semblent inutiles ou je reformule/ajoute d'autres phrases. Je profite de cette seconde passe que je fais sur cette fic pour essayer de l'améliorer un tantinet. Par manque de temps je ne passe pas beaucoup de temps sur cet effort d'amélioration mais quand c'est facile et rapide j'essaie de le faire ^^ ces modifications restent extrêmement marginales.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So sorry for the delay... I've been busy with pt-pirates fic exchange lately... and I got distracted by Attack on Titan and Erwin/levi... sorry !

The next day, Kame replayed the previous night’s events through his mind as he had breakfast. Every bite was followed by a pause when Kame forgot where he was and what he was doing, his whole mind focussed on remembering Jin’s sighs and sweet noises… 

A yawning Ryo joined him.

“Someone looks like he hasn’t had enough sleep,” Kame said, trying to pull himself away from his reverie.

“Yeah well someone has been up all night making too much noise,” Ryo grumbled.

“Ah… sorry about the food fight.” Kame answered, a little ashamed.

“Oh, don’t worry that was nothing. Nothing compared to bloody Ueda.”

“Ueda ??” that wasn’t the answer Kame had expected. “What did he do ??”

Ryo grew silent, apparently not in the mood to give any details. His eyes fixed on his food-tray, he finally muttered, “I’ll just have a nap this afternoon.”

Kame shrugged and turned back to his cereal.

At that moment, Ueda walked in, drawing several looks just like every time he made an entrance. Between his messy blond hair and his metallic accessories, it was impossible to miss him. His ripped clothes drew even more attention. Although his appearance was carefully arranged, he exuded an air of nonchalance.

He obviously hadn’t slept a lot but bore a relaxed and satisfied smile. While his face still had traces of childhood, his attitude was anything but child-like.  
His eyes swept through the room as if nothing there mattered and he casually walked over to the empty trays. After helping himself, he joined Juniors his own age.

Ryo kept an eye on him and looked thoughtful. Kame was visibly not the only one preoccupied by memories that morning. Ryo however put a stop to his observing as soon as Pi arrived - followed by a half-asleep Jin.

“Ohayo!!” Pi exclaimed as he noisily sat next to them. “Did you hear the news ? Dance classes have been changed.”

“Hm?” Ryo replied, only half interested.

“Yep. From now on I won’t have to rehearse with the dumbasses in my class. They decided to make us rehearse in groups now… for those who have one.”

Jin lazily tapped Kame on the shoulder. “I’m gonna get to tease you twice as much now.”

“If you make me have bad grades you’ll pay for it,” Kame snarled.

“Oh yeah?” Jin smiled. “I look forward to seeing that.”

Kame was boiling inside. Even half asleep, Jin managed to get on his nerves. What pissed him off the most was where his thoughts took him when Jin said those words. Kame prayed that those thoughts would disappear as soon as classes started or he would have trouble concentrating.

***

Once their dancing clothes were on, Jin and Kame joined the rest of KAT-TUN in their training room. Professor Itoh happily greeted them. He always tried to lift his students’ mood as well as he could, since they were often either depressed about their outfits or about the group they were stuck with.

“I talked with Johnny-san and we agreed that it’s best if your monthly group training sessions become the norm. Plus, like this, Kamenashi-kun, you get to be with more talented dancers just like I promised you.”

Talented ? Yeah, KAT-TUN were talented dancers… when they were in the mood for it. And some of them were never in the mood.

Itoh-sensei made them start with some stretching, along the horizontal bar on the wall. As usual, Kame had no problem lifting his leg. Flexibility had always been one of his strengths.  
The same couldn’t be said about the others. Ueda sent Kame a murderous glare while the teacher praised the younger. However the tension broke when Junno fell down and everyone broke into laughter.

“It’s not funny… that hurt!” Junno protested, but he was smiling nonetheless.

Jin wanted to manage on his own but despite his best efforts his knee stayed slightly bent. Itoh-sensei walked up to him to help.

“You were all able to do this a few years ago… I knew you should’ve kept doing the same exercises.”

Kame felt his pulse quicken as the young teacher got near his friend and gently pushed his thigh higher. He was used to girls getting very close to Jin. But seeing Itoh-sensei like this… it bothered him. He looked away, scared that his discomfort would show.

Jin grimaced but managed to get his leg straight in the end.

“I knew you could do it!” the teacher exclaimed. “Just a bit more training and you won’t need me anymore.”

He then walked towards the others to help them in turn, except Ueda who refused to do anything.

“I can’t dance anyway, there’s no point,” he grumbled.

Kame thought that was rather a rude way to address a teacher, but to his surprise Itoh-sensei said nothing.

The group finished the warm-up and went back to rehearsing a choreography they’d already done the previous month. Ueda’s moves were more than okay, despite what he’d just said. He probably just wanted to make the least efforts possible. Kame had a feeling that behind that nonchalant and mysterious façade he was hiding something.

Ueda attentively watched Kame’s seemingly natural dancing skills. Everything seemed so easy for him – the older boy secretly envied him. He had no idea it was training and not natural skill that had got Kame where he was. Ueda wasn’t the only one looking - Jin always loved to watch the youngest dance. His precise moves, his body swaying, his concentrated face… it all made him smile. He knew how much Kame loved to dance and it made him happy to see him grow and make progress. 

When Kame looked up, he met Jin’s gaze and his sincere smile. These moments always warmed his heart. That was what real friendship was all about: being able to smile at each other for no reason, just being happy for the other’s presence. At least that was what Jin felt. Because Kame also felt his heart beat faster whenever they shared such looks.

“Kame-kun, you did great,” the teacher said. “Technically speaking, it’s perfect. Now you just need to let go a little. I feel like you still have inhibitions holding you back. We can’t have that when your fans will soon expect you to be sensual… but it’s okay, you’re still young, you still have time.”

“Ha, baby Kazu-chan is too innocent,” Jin laughed and Kame looked as if he wanted to kill him.

“No one asked you for your opinion, Akanishi-kun” the teacher replied. “You may not have inhibitions, but you sure have room for improvement on the technical side.”

“Um, I really don’t think Jin is sensual. at. all.” Ueda muttered.

Itoh-sensei sighed.  
“Stop bickering like kids and get back to work.”  
These boys never stopped provoking each other and the teacher sometimes wondered whether they’d ever work together well as a group.

Itoh-sensei afterwards gave them a demonstration of new moves he intended to teach them. Kame was hypnotized by his talent. All his moves were so precise, muscles rippling under his skin… he looked both strong and elegant. It was a beautiful sight. Kame knew his teacher’s body type contributed to giving him such an impressive aura; the youngest also felt like all the efforts in the world would never give him the same amount of muscles. But he was determined – Kame would do everything in his power to improve and reach his teacher’s level.

***

A couple of hours later, Itoh-sensei finally let them go. After relaxing under the warm shower, Kame returned to the changing room with a towel around his waist. Most students were already gone, but running water still echoed in the area. As Kame took his clothes out of his locker, he heard footsteps. As those heavy steps drew closer Kazuya turned around and found himself face to face with his teacher.

“Kamenashi-kun, have you by any chance seen Ueda-kun?”

“No, sorry sir. He probably already left. But I can give him a message if you want.”

The professor was about to reply when he changed his mind and simply stretched his shoulders.

“Ok, no problem I’ll find him. Anyway, let me tell you I’m proud of you Kame-chan. Once more, you didn’t disappoint me today.”

Kame smiled, a little embarrassed. 

“You even got some more muscles in your arms, that’s great. Keep up the good work,” the young man said, his fingers skimming across Kame’s shoulders.

“Yes, sir.” Kame replied.

This closeness was starting to make him uncomfortable. This kind of contact wasn’t new, dance teachers often stood close to them to help them get the right posture. It had never bothered Kame, he wasn’t particularly self-conscious. But he was tired and his thoughts wandered out of their usual boundaries. Instead of seeing Itoh-sensei as his teacher, he saw a handsome 28-year-old man, with yummy muscles. His kind eyes made it all the more easy to feel drawn to him.

The teacher saw Kame’s hesitant gaze.

“I think you should rest now, Kame-chan. You’ve worked out a lot today.”

He ruffled Kame’s hair with a smile.

“Sensei?”

He turned around, recognizing Ueda’s voice.

“Ueda-kun! I was looking for you! Be in my office in 5 minutes,” he frowned and left the two juniors alone.

Ueda sighed exasperatedly. After a short silence, Kame decided he had to say something.

“Why were you so rude in class today?”

But Ueda suddenly drew near and slammed him against the lockers, fury making all traces of innocence disappear from his face.

“Ueda?!”

“Listen to me,” he growled. “You better leave Itoh-sensei alone.”

“…What? What the hell are you talking about? Let me go, you’re hurting me,” Kame grumbled as he tried to free himself from Ueda’s grip, but his efforts were in vain. He’d never seen Ueda like this.

“Don’t pretend you don’t understand, I’ve seen the way you look at him…”

Kame felt like the world had stopped. What had Ueda seen? He’d been careful not to let anything show… and if Ueda really had noticed something, why did he take the matter to heart this much? Kame whined inwardly. During the past few days, during long hours of pondering over his situation, he’d told himself that liking men would only bring him problems. He should have expected this, he knew many people weren’t very accepting of homosexuality. 

Kame told himself he should’ve rejected these new thoughts from the start… even though deep down he knew there wasn’t much he could do about it. It was too late now anyway, it was obvious this wasn’t even just about Jin anymore. Jin had been an eye-opener that made him realise a whole part of himself. Would his friends accept that part? He hadn’t planned to tell them anything, but if Ueda had seen something, maybe the others had noticed suspicious details too.

Ueda leaned in to murmur in his ear, his breath startling Kame and tickling his neck.

“There’s no point denying it Kame… I can sense this kind of thing.”

His voice was barely audible, now amused instead of menacing.

“Don’t you also feel it when there’s someone like you arund?” Like him? What did Ueda mean-  
Then the older drew even closer, his grip on Kame turning from aggressive to suggestive. Kame was too surprised to react. Ueda wouldn’t act that way if thought gay people were disgusting.

“Ueda, I…”

But Kame was unable to finish his sentence: Ueda’s lips were on his, his body pressing him against the locker. For a second Kame didn’t understand what was going on… Ueda was visibly not homophobic after all. His lips were soft, and for a moment Kame was tempted to give in. But too many questions plagued him, so he turned his face away.

His hesitation had been enough for Ueda to draw his conclusions and the latter smiled smugly. The older boy had felt that Kame’s initial instinct had been to accept his kiss.

“I’m never wrong,” he said. His smile faded away as he spoke his next words: “but hurry up and find yourself a boyfriend. I’ll be glad to help.”

Kame stared at him, unable to understand where Ueda was going with all this.

“Ueda, I don’t-”

“Just forget about Itoh-sensei,” Ueda interrupted, “Ok? If you give me a single reason to doubt you, trust me, you’ll regret it.”

Kame had no idea where any of this came from.  
“Ueda, I really don’t give a shit about our dance teacher.”

“He’s waiting for me, I gotta go,” the older replied, his eyes colder than Kame had ever seen them.

The older boy left, leaving Kame confused and shocked.  
Ueda and the dance teacher? What the hell…

Kame barely dared voice the half-formed images his brain was supplying. But now he knew the reason for all the dark looks Ueda had been sending him throughout the class.

_Hurry up and find yourself a boyfriend. I’ll be glad to help._

 

Ueda’s words echoed in his mind. Kame wasn’t blind, he knew Ueda wasn’t looking for his happiness and just wanted to get what he considered to be a potential rival out of the way. However, Kame wasn’t sure that he wanted to be with someone. What was the point of getting into a relationship if Jin was the one he was obsessed with?  
Being with someone and spending every waking hour thinking of someone else felt wrong. Such a relationship would be bound to fail.

What’s more, Kame hated to admit it, but he couldn’t help hoping. For what exactly, he wasn’t sure. At least he hoped Jin would keep using him every time his thirst for physical contact took over. Or whatever this was.  
Although Kame craved to share more of those moments with Jin, he knew that in the long term, he wouldn’t be able to find happiness and fulfilment in such a relationship, unless there was some kind of evolution.

He tried to shut those depressing thoughts up. There was no point thinking long term when it had already been a long time since they’d last kissed. No, the moments he’d been able to share with Jin until now had just been a series of strikes of luck.

The water that had been running in the last shower cabin stopped. Wet feet smacked the tile floor and Jin appeared in the changing room.

“You’re always the last one out”, Kame said, “didn’t your mom teach you to not waste water?” 

“But I _love_ long showers,” Jin replied, “all that hot water and steam… they’re perfect for wandering thoughts” he finished with a meaningful grin.  
Kame groaned.

“Baka. You really don’t miss an occasion to be a pervert.”

“Shut up, I’m sure you’re just like me. At least I’m honest.”

Kame rolled his eyes and opened his locker. Jin was still in his peripheral vision, getting rid of the towel around his hips to get dressed.  
Kame gulped and kept his eyes fixed on his own pile of clothes.

“Your back really looks like a girl’s one, Kazuya,” said Jin’s amused voice.

“What?! My back?”

“No, the cockroaches’. Do you see anyone else here?”

“A COCKROACH? WHERE?!” Kame shrieked as he flipped around.

Jin broke into a fit of giggles.  
“I see your back isn’t your only girly side.”

If it weren’t for Jin’s warm and happy gaze, Kame would’ve been angry. As it was, it was impossible for Kame to be mad. Jin’s sweet smile tempted him like a forbidden fruit.

He barely managed to keep the spite out of his voice when he said, “If I were a girl, you wouldn’t be standing there. The perve you are wouldn’t be content with just making fun of me.”

At that, Jin looked thoughtful.  
“Hmm, yeah. But you don’t meet some of my requirements, especially in the chest area…”

Kame sighed exasperatedly, which only made Jin giggle some more.

When the youngest also got rid of his towel, Jin pretend-gasped.

“Don’t tell me you also expected to see girl legs,” Kame sneered.

“Come on, it’s no fun if you don’t play along.”

Kame just shook his head dismissively and put his trousers on. He turned his back to Jin again. He usually didn’t care about nudity but now things had changed. He was almost sure he’d be unable to keep an impassive face with an unclothed Jin in front of him.

The room had grown quiet and Kame started wondering if something had happened to Jin for him to become so silent - until he felt a gentle touch on his back. He froze and waited, despite the immediate spike of longing he felt. What surprised Kame even more than this touch was Jin’s troubled voice.

“Kazu-chan… what are these red marks?”

Kame closed his eyes, feeling Jin’s gentle touch with all his being. The latter traced the red marks the locker had imprinted on his skin when Ueda had slammed him against it earlier.

Jin withdrew his hand when he heard an unsteady breath.

“Did I just hurt you?” he mumbled worriedly.

Kame looked at him over his shoulder and tried to persuade himself that what he felt was relief when he saw that Jin had finished getting dressed.

“Don’t worry about it. It’s nothing,” he replied.

“this is obviously not nothing,” Jin said more firmly, his hands back on his skin. “Stop trying to draw people’s attention away from your problems; I’m not just here to have fun and tease you. I’m your friend… I’m here to help.”

Kame admitted defeat and lowered his head. His lips parted but no word came out. He wasn’t used to Jin being this serious, and his words of support had touched him.  
“I probably got hurt without noticing,” he finally said.

Jin didn’t look convinced but let it go. He squeezed Kame’s shoulder affectionately and Kame felt his heart squeeze at the same time.  
Then Jin hugged him and Kame felt his heart stop.

This closeness was too much. He couldn’t handle it. He couldn’t handle being this close to Jin with his feelings growing more and more complicated. The more he thought about it, the more he told himself there was no future for them two as a couple, and that he shouldn’t let himself hope. Shouldn’t let himself feel. Kame bit his lip and tried to pull himself together.  
A deep breath.  
A few blinks to get rid of unwanted overwhelming thoughts.

His face was back in control and tears no longer threatened to escape his eyes but the sadness remained. He wasn’t ready to give up on Jin although he knew he should. If it had been just about physical desire, Kame could’ve probably let out some of his frustration by finding someone else. But as he held back his tears he realised it wasn’t just that. In Jin’s gentle embrace, all Kame could think was how much he cared for him. How much he loved him. His every thought made him more and more sure of it. His feelings were so overwhelming it felt like he was suffocating. He knew that the more he clung to his hopes, the more he’d suffer.

Despite his resolution to bury these feelings deep down, he couldn’t help internally begging Jin to give him a reason to keep hoping. His sighs were silent prayers. _Kiss me… please kiss me. Kiss me, Jin…_

But Jin heard none of it and behaved just like a friend. Kame started to accept that his dreams would never come true. He couldn’t bear this closeness anymore and slowly drew away. He finished getting dressed and tried to give Jin a reassuring smile. The latter didn’t look like he believed him but seemed to understand that he wouldn’t get anything out of Kame that day.

To brighten the atmosphere, the older changed the topic.

“I hope you haven’t forgotten it’s my birthday next week,” he said with a bright smile. “Shizu told me she has a special surprise for me… I expect the same from you!” he playfully winked.

“You can’t just ask for presents like that.” Kame muttered. Of course, he knew Jin was just joking, but still.

He gave him an exasperated smile but deep down, hearing Shizu’s name again felt like a stab at his heart. He knew he should just give up, but he wasn’t ready. Not yet.  
Even though he knew his hopes were killing him softly, he wanted to give himself just a little more time. Maybe a miracle would happen.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It took me ages to continue translating... I'm sorry !  
> I promise next chapter will show up more quickly than this one.

Ryo's forehead was covered in sweat as he went through his dance steps. Despite his calm breathing, his pink cheeks revealed the strain on his muscles. Night had fallen a long time ago, but Ryo tirelessly repeated his moves as a light breeze and faraway car-honks came in through the open window. Those noises were however covered by the music from the room's stereo. The gentle melody took over his senses, and it could have been a peaceful moment if it weren't constantly ruined by the noise of Kame falling over.

"Are you going to come over to dance, or do you intend to waste your time doing handstands all night?" Ryo huffed irritably.

Kame got back to his feet for the nth time, rubbing a sore elbow.

"I'm not wasting my time, I'm training my arm muscles and my balance. Our dance teacher was right, I do need more muscles."

"Yeah, well... train for that on your own, there's not enough space for your antics in this tiny room. Didn't you ask me to come over so that we could train together?"

Kame sighed but gave up on his handstands and got up to change the music - they needed something more fun if they were to dance together.

When the first sounds came out, Ryo looked confused.

"...the fuck is this?"

"It's from America, it's called Lady Marmelade. Come on, let's go!"

Even though this song was different from what they were used to, Kame had chosen it because it went well with the hiprolls he wanted to work on.  
When the teacher had told everyone he wasn't sensual enough, Kame hadn't shown any signs of being affected by his words, but deep down he was annoyed and intended to show the others that Itoh-san was definitely wrong.

Good thing Jin was away that evening... Shizu had invited him over and he wasn't back yet.  
Which is why Kame had asked Ryo to replace his best friend for tonight.  
It was rather convenient, Kame prefered not to show Jin this aspect of his dancing until he got the chance to perfect it. Since Jin had made fun of him, Kame all the more wanted to impress him.

Ryo let himself go with the music's sensual flow. Despite his angelic face, his moves were nowhere near innocent, which distracted Kame. When Ryo looked up at Kame, he caught him jealously staring at him, which made him smirk.

"Kazuya, I don't get what's so hard about this. You were doing pretty well at Shizu's party if I remember correctly."

"Yeah, well. I'd had a few drinks."

Kame didn't like to admit his weaknesses, but despite Ryo's teasing ways, he trusted him.

"You need to be more confident, you're not bad at this."  
which was already a nice compliment, considering who was speaking.  
"You just need to make it all flow more naturally. Sometimes your dancing looks a bit too serious, maybe because you're super concentrated. Stop thinking and just let go!  
That's why you did great at the party - you were too drunk to overanalyse everything."

Kame smiled weakly, not entirely sure he was happy with what he was hearing.  
He bit his lips and replied.

"It's automatic for me to start counting as soon as I start dancing, considering all the choreographies we've been learning. I can't just stop like that."

"Yes, you can. Come on," Ryo replied and beckoned Kame closer.

Kame stepped towards him and was surprised when Ryo tugged him up close, to guide his hips with his own body.

"We'll start together so that you don't have to think about what you're doing. Then I'll let you try this on your own," he said calmly.

Kame relaxed against him and let himself be guided. The same easygoing feeling from the party gradually took over him, his thoughts slowly coming to a stop and his body moving on instinct alone.

Given the smile Ryo was sending his way, it looked like his method was successful.  
Kame's moves gradually became more and more independant from Ryo's and the younger started guiding the older, playfully singing along to the lyrics.

"Voulez-vous coucher avec moi, ce soir," which made his partner smirk... but that didn't seem to please everyone. 

"Do you even know what that means?" said a new voice drily.

Jin was leaning in the doorway.

"Hey Jin," Ryo said, "weren't you supposed to spend the evening with ...whats-her-name ...Shizu?"

"I did. And now I'm back and I need to talk to Kame. Leave us."

Ryo seemed surprised by Jin's hostile tone, especially since the latter was supposed to have had a great evening with his girlfriend. Ryo nonetheless just shrugged and left - not wanting to unnecessarily add fuel to the fire. 

As soon as the door shut behind him, Jin seemed to relax a little.

"Ok... what happened with Shizu to make you kick him out like that??" Kame asked.

At the mention of his girlfriend, Jin's face lit up and he jumped closer to his friend, his usual enthusiasm back.  
The sudden change in mood only confused Kame further.

"This week-end, after my birthday party... she wants me to sleep at her place!!" he exclaimed excitedly, "and I don't know what she's planning, but I sure as hell know what I'm hoping for," he added with a cheeky smile.

While Jin was growing more and more excited, Kame was being drained of all his previous good mood.  
If Jin took that step with Shizu, it would mean the end of a world of illusions... the end of all the hopes Kame had helplesly still kept harbouring.

"Hm. And... that's why you kicked out Ryo??"

Jin rolled his eyes.

"Come on, you could sound happier for me. You saw how he reacted last time I talked about her : he'd slammed the door as he left. Anyway... you're the only one I wanna tell about all the details."

"And who says I want to know?" Kame replied.

"Well... we're best friends! I also want to know everything about what you're up to. It's not my fault you've got nothing going on."

Kame glared at him, his blood boiling, before answering.

"Anyway, I was training until you arrived, since you were too busy to do it with me today."

"It's not like you needed any company," Jin snapped, "I thought we'd agreed to train only together."

Jin obviously resented him for pairing up with Ryo.

"What's more, it's not like you chose the best substitute. Ryo isn't gonna mesmerize anyone with his hips anytime soon."

"When will you stop dissing other people to make you look better?" Kame muttered angrily. "I need to shower, anyway. See you tomorrow," he said as he stomped towards the bathroom.

Jin followed him inside.

"What are you waiting for? I'm done with your shit for today," Kame snarled as he took his tshirt off.

Jin said nothing. He realised that once more, he'd gone too far. He wasn't exactly sure whether it was pride or shame that were stopping him from apologizing.

He always felt worse after behaving badly towards Kame than what he felt towards others. Kame's opinion on him mattered more to him than anyone else's.

Since Jin was still quiet, Kame ignored him while he finished undressing and stepped into the shower.

Once the glass door closed, Kame pulled the faucet so that the running water would cover the sound of him taking a deep breath. He saw that Jin still wasn't moving and wondered what the hell the other boy wanted.

It wasn't the first time Jin got moodswings due to how possessive he felt towards his closest friends... and Kame had always been a special person for him. It usually didn't cause Jin any problems, but Kame was less and less accepting regarding his possessive whims. And an annoyed Kame made the older more and more uncomfortable.  
Having Kame mad at him was the last thing Jin wanted.  
Without any additional thinking, Jin took his shoes off and joined Kame in the shower, his clothes still on.

"Are you fucking crazy?? How... how are you gonna get back to your room without dripping water everywhere ?!"

"People are used to seeing me do weird stuff. They'll just shrug and say I'm still mad," Jin replied softly.

"Baka..."

Kame felt his cheeks grow warm. Despite having already shared many showers with Jin, after practise and such, this time it was different. Jin's closeness made him more self-conscious about his nakedness than anyone else's presence.  
He nonetheless quickly recovered from his surprise - it was a good thing that Jin hadn't undressed after all.

Jin's clothes were now completely drenched. It was hard for Kame to keep a serious face in front of Jin's stupidity, but the truth was he was still a bit angry. He was starting to get sick of this trick Jin used every time he got into an argument - distracting the others from the issue by acting silly.

Kame was however unable to hold back a weak smile in front of Jin's happy face, as the latter relaxed, lifting his face under the warm shower.

"Did you just come in to steal all the hot water or...?" Kame asked.

Jin finally lowered his face back down towards him.

"When you left your room, you kinda slammed the bathroom door in my face... I hated it."

Kame scoffed.  
"You had it coming." He took a breath and decided that some things needed to be set straight. "You don't want me to dance with Ryo, but if you spend every evening with Shizu, what am I supposed to do? I'm not going to stay alone in my room without training just so that you don't get unreasonably jealous."

Jin's eyed flashed.

"What you were doing with Ryo, I don't call that training. You were grinding against him as if you wanted to... wanted to..."

Jin bit his lip, surprised by his own words. He left the sentence hanging, not sure that finishing it was a good idea. He wasn't even sure what Kame wanted. All he knew was that seeing them both like that had made his stomach drop.  
Was it the hot water that made his cheeks grow pink?

"Jin you're dumb. We always dance like that. Don't start imagining things."

A muscle twitched along Jin's jaw.  
"No. You don't dance like that with me. We'd agreed that we'd try every move together before doing them with the others. Either you forgot or you decided you don't give a shit, Kazu."

Sure, they'd agreed to try everything together first. But now, Kame's mind couldn't help going places, and the thought of Jin wanting to do everything with Kame first... it made the younger want to bang his head against the wall. He tried to calm down and stayed put.

"Jin... circumstances change. I can't just wait for you to come back from Shizu's every evening. I need to have a life of my own."

"What's the point of being your best friend if there's nothing special about our friendship after all?!"  
Jin interrupted him, his voice full of spite.  
Kame felt all the blood rise to his face.

"Nothing special?! Excuse me, but I don't call being there for you day and night 'nothing special'. Standing your jokes even when they're not funny, I don't call that 'nothing special'. And... well there are so many other things I could mention so stop being selfish and accept that I need to have other friends too!"

Kame wanted to believe that Jin was angry because he was possessive. But sometimes he couldn't help wondering whether he was reading too much into it and it was just selfishness.

So many people gravitated around Jin, Kame sometimes felt like he was just one person lost in an ocean of other friends, other options.  
It was hard for the younger to measure just how much he mattered to his older friend. Sometimes he was confident that Jin cared about him, but his lack of confidence occasionally made him turn way too pessimistic.

To his surprise, Jin didn't answer and lowered his eyes towards his feet. Water trickled along his hairstrands and down onto his drenched clothes.

"Okay," he finally mumbled. "Dance with him as much as you like, rub up against him as much as you want - I don't care."  
He was about to turn away, his eyes avoiding Kame, but the latter held him back. Seeing Jin look so uncomfortable and disappointed gave him some hope.

"Jin. Ryo is a cool guy - but he'll never replace you. "

His voice lost its serious tone when he added, "he's not pervy enough, he can't be compared to a bakanishi like you," with a small smile.

"Yep, you got it,"Jin replied, his face lighting up.

Jin suddenly felt a surge of affection towards Kame. Was it because he'd once again feared that he'd lose his friendship? The younger's smile made him feel all warm and fuzzy. All he knew was that seeing his friend like this made him happy. His gaze wandered from Kame's eyes to his lips, over this face that seemed to only be waiting to be teased - teased in Jin's own special way.

"...you forgot something on your list of stuff we do together earlier," he murmured and stepped closer.

Kame watched him apprehensively... fearing that he'd be unable to seem impassive if Jin drew even closer, so he hurriedly said:

"Don't come any nearer with your dirty clothes!"

But it was too late, Jin had already reduced the space between them to nothing, looking at him straight in the eyes. With the playful smile he always had before doing this, the older slowly raised his hand to slide his fingers through Kame's hair and settle behind his neck. He gently drew Kame's face towards his.

"You better not do this with Ryo, or with any other guy," he murmured just before capturing Kame's lips in a slow kiss. His tongue hungrily invaded Kame's mouth, as if to reaffirm that the younger belonged to him, and he pushed Kame against the cold tiles on the wall. 

The difference in temperature with the ambient heat made Kame shiver. Hot water still poured over them, barely drowning the sounds of their sighs. Neither wanted to let the other one take control.  
Kame's chest expanded towards Jin as he breathed heavily. He gave in and completely pressed himself against his friend. Jin's fingers abandonned his neck to slowly slide down to the small of his back.

"...Yeah, I kinda forgot a detail or two." Kame murmured against Jin's cheek. Their wet hair was stuck against their faces, red from the intensity of what had just occurred. Stuck together in this warmth, they didn't want to part.

"A detail or two that make our friendship rather special, ne?" Jin replied, threading his fingers through Kame's hair again, before pulling Kame's nape closer so that lips would meet, this time more slowly.

Jin's fingers slid from his waist to his pecs, and he was surprised to discover just how soft and warm Kame's skin felt. The latter shivered and trapped Jin's lower lip between his, one last time before slowly nudging Jin away, taking his hands in his and off his chest.

"...let me get washed now," he muttered, a smile on his lips. The truth was he needed some privacy before his body would start betraying him. Jin pouted but his good mood was obvious with the twinkling gaze he shared with his friend. Kame gently pushed him towards the door, still holding on to his hands, but Jin leaned against the door with his back instead of leaving. The older tugged Kame towards him until he was flushed against him. Despite the surprise of Jin doing this, Kame was happy to be in a position where Jin could unexpectedly touch him anywhere. Their smiles met again, as if their physical contact could never bore either of them. Kame pushed Jin's hands up against the cold glass door too, and for the first time, tried to discover other places - his mouth slowly kissed Jin's neck and slid down it. 

At the same time, the younger felt Jin's fingers close around his own, tightening his grip on Kame's hands the more Kame kissed his skin. The way Jin's chest lifted up to each intense breath showed how much pleasure he was feeling, and so did his eyes that kept closing.

One of his hands slipped through Kame's fingers on purpose, and reached out to gently lay on Kame's naked hip instead. Hesitation made Jin draw his hand back off for an instant, but it didn't take him long to put it back there and slowly start to grip Kame's skin to press his body even more against his.

Kame felt tension build up within his body. A tension linked to pleasure that he wasn't used to feeling. A noisy breath escapted his lips, another and yet another breath followed up. The hand Jin kept on a part of his body no one ever touched, it made it impossible for Kame to have any reasonable thought. It was as if an invisible force pushed him against Jin, as if an unusually high heartrate was going through his whole body, muscles contracting without logic. There were so many signs Kame wasn't used to, showing how excited he was.

He did all he could to keep those signs out of sight, not wanting Jin to realise how desperately his body was craving for more, but Kame knew he couldn't hold back much longer. He thus suddenly drew himself away from his touch, and slid the shower door open.

"Ji..n," he murmured, unable to immediately say a full sentence. It was as if he could barely breathe. 

Jin re-opened his eyes and stared at him for a few moments, unable to say a thing. His own breathing was irregular, he'd never lost control over his actions in such a way before. Jin still felt a memory of how Kame's skin had felt against his hand, despite Kame's hip no longer being under his fingers. Jin at first panicked when he realised what he'd just done. When he'd entered the shower, he hadn't intended to end up in such a sensual situation.

He pulled himself together, telling himself this was just a game and was nothing to worry about. He managed to reassure himself by realising that after all, they'd only been kissing, which wasn't anything new - the other details being ignored on purpose.

"Ok, ok, I get it," he said, rolling his eyes, "I'll let you take your shower."  
He pulled his back away from the door in order to step out.

"See you later, Kazu darling" he ironically said with a fake sweet voice, obviously just wanting to tease his friend.  
The younger only replied by pushing him out with a well placed kick. 

 

For long minutes, Kame lingered with his forehead against the shower's square tiles, cold water running all over him. He himself still needed to pull himself together. He could hardly believe that what had just happened was real, given how unexpected it had been. He let his thoughts go back to those nice moments he couldn't help lengthening in his imagination.  
...but the cold temperature brought him back to reality and he walked out to get dressed. 

***

After going back through those pleasant memories again and again, Kame's thoughts drifted towards unsecure questions. He was lying in bed, unable to fall asleep. Of course, he didn't regret living those moments with Jin, quite the contrary. But those moments of pleasure were darkened by his doubts he was obsessed with. He couldn't understand Jin's behaviour. Did the older really want him or was he, with those actions, just trying to define Kame as part of his territory ?

_"You better not do this with Ryo, or with any other guy"_

Although those words marked the beginning of one of Kame's most precious memories, they were nonetheless hard to accept. It was easy for Jin to request this kind of thing ; he had Shizu after all. Kame gnashed his teeth... he didn't want a girl. The more he thought about it, the less he felt it possible for him to like one, because any thought about girls reminded him of Johnny's heiress.

He didn't know what to think anymore. Before tonight, he had almost decided to give up... but it looked like Jin wouldn't let him abandon whatever this was. If only Jin could realise that this wasn't friendship he was offering, and was closer to being a cage. What exactly did Jin want ? Kame wondered if he would one day dare to confront him on the topic. It's with these thoughts that he finally fell into a troubled sleep.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This time I was quicker and translated this in a few days instead of in a few months haha... thank you for your patience <3

The next day, Kame was surprised to discover that the atmosphere was considerably less calm than usual when he walked into the entrance hall. A group of juniors were pushing each other to get closer to an information poster, their excitement turning the hall into a noisy place. Kame subtly made his way towards it, curious despite seeing half the juniors get over-excited, the other half sighing in frustration.

"Why didn't my parents sign my fucking permission to go out on trips and expeditions this year ?!" said one of the very annoyed kids.

Kame finally arrived in front of the paper, where Yamapi joined him.

"I'll kill Akanishi," said the latter as a huge smile appeared on his lips. "I knew he hadn't randomly chosen his girlfriend."

While his eyes went through all the description to read, he added : "Don't you think it's weird the agency is organising a junior week-end away, at an onsen place, _exactly_ on his birthday week-end ? I'm sure Shizu got the idea, not Johnny-san."

Kame tried to quickly catch up on all the reading, but of course he was very surprised.

"But... wasn't she just supposed to have another party at her place? Jin had told me he was going get to sleep at her place soon," Kame replied, still feeling confused.

But then he saw Yamapi's face brighten, both with amusement and with excitement. His grin became slightly pervert, so the younger rolled his eyes.

"She probably wanted to keep this week-end trip a surprise," Pi said, "still letting him guess he wouldn't get away with simple kisses this time" he added, laughing. "Anyway, she's not doing things halfway, the Yugawara onsen is one of the oldest in Japan. Even better, there's a beach nearby; it's gonna be so cool !"

"Yeah, well," Kame replied, "it says it's in a bay here... and that means no waves I could surf on. Too bad."

"Come on, there are other things than surf in life, Kame-chan !" Pi exclaimed teasingly.

After that, they walked into the breakfast hall where their friends were already seated. Yamapi surprised Jin by sneaking behind him to look at what he was doing and whisper "What a cute mail you're sending your Shizu..."

Jin jumped, blushed and hurried to put his phone away in his pocket.

"Well, I did have to thank her," he said defensively, "by the way, you ought to thank me, too. If I weren't her boyfriend, we would never have such an unbelievable week-end organised for us!!"

Jin's smile was mirrored on all the faces around him. All, except Kame's. With such a gift from his girlfriend, Jin would certainly grow closer to her.

 

***

Several buses left the agency's building on saturday morning, heading towards the onsens.

As usual, Jin and Yamapi didn't stick to their seats and kept going to see all their friends in the bus, no matter the teachers' protests. Ueda took advantage of Jin's attitude to slip into the seat next to Kame, who was putting colored nailpolish on his feet.

"Kame. Are you free tonight?" Ueda asked, skipping polite greetings.

Kame hadn't expected that question - he and Ueda had never been close. What's more, Ueda's smile made him wonder whether he'd missed something that he ought to worry about.

"Since tomorrow is Jin's birthday, I'm pretty sure he's going to want to party tonight," he replied.

"I'm not asking you what Jin's doing. Would't you like to go out somewhere with me? There's a bar I wanna go to."

"A bar? Listen Ueda... this isn't the right moment. I want to be there for Jin, and tonight isn't the night to abandon him."

Ueda looked annoyed.

"You're no fun," he sighed. "Anyway, let me know if you change your mind."

"Why don't you want to stay at the party with everyone here ?"

Ueda raised an eyebrow and looked rather amused.

"A party with only straight people, or people who won't admit they aren't straight ? Nope, not interested."

Kame rolled his eyes, was Ueda really always this annoying ?

"And what about spending an evening with friends? You don't give a shit about that either?" He asked, but Ueda wasn't listening, busy staring at the front of the bus. Before Kame could see what had drawn his attention, the older got up and left. 

Why did Ueda suddenly want to go out, in the middle of nowhere and in his company? Couldn't he wait to be back in Tokyo? Maybe he was in a hurry to find Kame a boyfriend. That thought made the younger smile in disbelief. Ueda's fears seemed ridiculous to him: he'd never, never be interested in the dance teacher.

Kame's thoughts were interrupted by the arrival of precisely the latter.

"Sensei?!"

"Kamenashi, no need for such a surprised face. I'm one of the teachers supervising the trip, I came here to tell you your room group."

"'Room group'?"

"The ryokan isn't big enough for each of you to have your own room. You'll be with Ueda, Nakamaru and Jin," he said with a smile. However his eyebrows then lowered into a frown, as he added: "I better not catch you doing anything bad, I'll be staying in a room nextdoor."

Kame nodded, wondering whether he'd manage to close an eye in the night, in the presence of Jin and Ueda.

They arrived at an inn in Yugawara at lunch time. The place was starting to be decorated for an upcoming festival. The owner showed up to welcome his week-end client, given that the whole inn had been booked by the agency for this occasion.

"Welcome to our ryokan! I hope you'll have a lovely week-end here," he said and bowed.

The ryokan was on the side of a hill, in the middle of a traditional Japanese garden beautifully arranged. Alleys paved with rocks crossed the garden, were covered in traditional wooden rooftops, and led towards the various sections of the ryokan. The newly arrived group walked towards their accomodations, tugging their luggage behind.

"Why is my luggage so heavy?" Junno whined, which made Jin snort behind him. Kame raised a questioning face towards his friend. 

"I had no more space in my backpack, so I put a thing or two in his bag," he whispered, trying to hold back laughter to avoid getting caught by Junno.

Kame shook his head in front of his foolishness and stepped forward to faster reach their room, so that they could drop their luggage more quickly.

***

The sound of waves was gently almost rocking him to sleep, while the sun comfortably warmed his skin. Kame was lying down at the dark-sand beach, letting his body dry after a swim: he'd pretended to be more in the mood for a swim alone instead of going in the onsen with everyone else. A few other Johnny's not wanting to hang out undressed with the others had followed his initiative, although shyness wasn't the reason that had made Kame run away. He simply had no interest to go see Jin and Yamapi comparing this or that part of their body, or to take part in any dumb game. Not that Kame never participated in silly games, but he was just not in the mood for it today.

He opened his eyes when he felt a shadow suddenly fall accross his skin.

"Ryo?? What are you doing here?"

An exasperated sigh escaped Ryo's lips before he let himself fall onto a towel he'd placed next to him.

"I escaped a disaster."

"Huh??"

"In the onsen... the group's lazy soaking turned into a water fight and... I got away before the owner would show up and probably be furious."

"Let me guess, Jin and Pi started it?" Kame asked, a smile tugging at his lips.

"They're still there, I'm pretty sure they won't stop until someone pulls them out of the water."

They stayed on their beach towels to enjoy the sun for a nice while. The strong heat, the noise of water and of children playing made them forget their everyday lives, as if they were resting in another world.

But this peace was lost when Ryo rolled over Kame, taking his towel with him to cover them both.

"Ehh?!" Kame winced. "What the fuck are you doing??"

"Shh! shut up!" Ryo muttered irritably through his teeth.

With Ryo's burning hot skin against his and the warm towel over them, the heat became barely bearable. Ryo's eyes were heading away, as if he was concentrated on something happening out of their furnace.

This closeness reminded Kame of Jin's crisis not so long ago, when he'd seen him in a similar situation with Ryo - except this time they weren't dancing. Why had Jin gotten so angry anyway? Kame wasn't a object belonging to him so that he could have him available whenever he wanted and for whatever he wanted. What's more, why was it always Jin taking the first steps when... something unusual happened between them? By acting like this, the older would end up dominating their relationship, being it friendship or... something else. Kame decided that he wouldn't let things go like this anymore. If Jin wanted them to play, they'd play... but Kame wouldn't let him indefinitely lead it all.

He suddenly heard a familiar voice.

"Yuki-chan, are you going out tonight?"

"Tat-chan, I never said you could call me by my first name," replied a slightly irritated voice.

Ueda and Itoh-sensei? How had they ended up so near?

"Would you like me to say Sensei, then?" Ueda sensually asked.

"Stop. It's enough. We're outside, don't talk to me like this."

Ryo and Kame couldn't believe what they were hearing.

"Hm, I thought you precisely enjoyed the risk of getting caught... and the 'forbidden' side of what's going on..."

"Baka. What are you imagining? From the start, everything was clear between us: we had a good time once, now it's time for you to look for someone your age."

Kame and Ryo's eyes widened.

"Once? I think you can't count. Surprising, coming from a dance teacher," Ueda replied and laughed.

"Ueda, we're at the beach, surrounded by families with children. You could keep this discussion for later and for a more appropriate setting instead of following me here."

"Later, do you mean while we're having dinner with everyone ? Come on, no one cares what we're talking about. If it does bother them... well look, those two gays under that towel are probably bothering them even more. What the fuck are they doing..." Ueda said, terrifying Kame and Ryo. "Wait. Nailpolish?" He added, barely above a mutter to himself.

"Leave those guys alone," the teacher said and sighed, abandonning his attempts at making Ueda shut up.

"Tonight I'll be at the Tun's. It's a club on the main square, me and close friends want to discover it. You better not stick too close to me."

Kame and Ryo held their breath when they heard their steps getting closer. They were too distracted to wonder why his teacher was confessing what he had planned.

"I won't. I have much better to do than that. I'll go there with Kame-chan."

Ueda never called him "Kame-chan"... the younger had a feeling he was doing so with bad intentions.

"...Are you together?"

Kame's heart stopped.

"Would that bother you?"

"It's just that I had no idea Kame was... like us. I mean, I can't say it's a huge surprise either. But he's too young to already go clubbing."

Ryo stared at Kame, looking extremely surprised. The younger had no idea how to react so he pretended to also be taken aback.

"Well, he's not too young to kiss well. Very well, even."

Kame felt like he was dying on the spot in shame and avoided Ryo's more and more shocked gazes. He felt his cheeks burn even more and guessed he was certainly blushing.

"Ha! He definitely hides that side of him well... have fun, then. You and him. At least, you'll stop stalking me."

"See you tonight, sensei..." Ueda said, sensually again and ignoring the teacher's last few words.

"Baka..." murmured the teacher. To Ryo and Kame's surprise, he almost sounded kindly amused.

After a long silence, Kame concluded that the teacher must have left. He hence dared take a look outside through the narrow space between the towel and the ground, but was horrified to see Ueda's feet getting closer.

It was even worse when the latter suddenly pulled the towel off them, and pretended to sigh.

"Kame-chan, can you tell me what you're doing there with... with Ryo?!" He finished with an accurate surprise, after recognizing the boy on top of Kazuya. Ryo hurried to his feet.

"Well, well... I discover unexpected things every day," Ueda said, "I never would have thought you, Ryo, would-"

"Shut up!" Ryo interrupted furiously. "Since when do I look like a fag?"

Ueda looked like he wanted to snort.

"Since when do you lie down on top of Kame like that?"

Ryo was fuming.

"You got it all wrong, dumbass. Anyway, I did have doubts about you, and it seems that they are confirmed. You're fucking crazy, you're putting in danger his career... and also you own!"

"Don't pretend you worry about our careers. You're only frustrated because you just discovered that Jin and Yamapi aren't the only ones having fun with dates... and that you're the only one having a boring, boring life."

"Ueda..." Ryo aggressively muttered through gnashing teeth, and Kame started to fear that they were about to fight. He tried to intervene but immediately regretted doing so.

"Ueda," Kame said, trying to keep his voice from showing his anxiousness. It rather worked. "Why do you have to talk about him like that? His life is his own and only he can judge it. We certainly don't know everything about it."

"Shut the fuck up, Kame," Ryo retorted, now directing his anger at him. "I thought we were friends, and you hide from me an information like this??"  
Kame didn't like the frown deepening on his friend's face as he said those words. "Your dance training sessions with me... you can shove them you-know-where!"

Kame was so shocked by the way Ryo was talking to him that he couldn't speak a single word after that, and could only stare at he who he had always considered as a friend, and who now seemed to despise him.

"You guys are out of your minds..." Ryo muttered and turned his back on them to leave. Kame wanted to catch up with him, but Ueda held him back.

"Leave him alone... he's just shocked. You'll get your friend back once he gets used to the news."

"Ueda, you're unbelievable. Why did you tell the teacher all that? Do you want to make a public announcement now??"

"Hey, you've got to accept who you really are-"

"Maybe, but my friends are also part of who I am, and I have no intention to lose them. So from now on, you better not let more things about me escape your mouth."

Kame was furious, but he was even more so when he saw Ueda's smile widen.

"May I know what's amusing you that much?" He growled.

"I have a proposal for you, Kame-chan"

Kame tried to ignore the way Ueda calling him like that stung.

"I'm not sure I want to hear it, considering how fucked up your logic is."

Ueda looked at him straight in the eye, apparently excited by the idea he'd just had and full of hope.

"If you come with me to the club tonight, I'll tell Ryo everything I said about you was bullshit. I'll say I made it all up to make sensei jealous."

Kame remained unsure. His proposition sounded too easy to actually end well.

"He won't believe you."

"Look, I'll run after him to talk to him immediately, how about that? If he believes me, you _have_ to come tonight. If he doesn't, too bad for you and me, you're free. However, you better respect your engagement... because if you don't, nothing will stop me from telling him the truth afterwards."

Kame was tired of having to deal with people talking to him inappropriately.

"Seriously, why do you have to threaten me??"

"I'm just trying to help you, Kame!! I remind you that I had no idea Ryo was here when I was talking to the teacher, so don't turn all your anger against me. It's not my fault Ryo is an asshole."

Kame sighed while staring at the ground. If he didn't make up his mind quickly, Ryo might to run to Yamapi and Jin to tell them...

"Okay. Hurry up," he muttered.

Ueda's smiled again and he immediately started running in the direction Ryo had left.

Kame let himself once more fall over the hot sand, holding his head in his hands and hoping the soft sound of the waves would help him find some peace again.

***

That evening, Kame carefully took a seat far from Ryo at dinner. As soon eyes their eyes met, Ryo however got up to come sit next to him.

"Kame... Ueda told me everything, I'm sorry for getting so angry earlier. Sincerely sorry."

"Really?" Kame said drily, "You did sound serious when you said all that shit."

"No... I made a mistake. The blazing sun we enjoyed for too long probably made my brain go mad. You know I'd never talk to you like that in a normal situation."

"..." Kame wasn't convinced and didn't know what to say.

"I've got nothing against gay people, I swear. Although I have to admit I'm relieved that you're not one of them."

"Ah." Said Kame, voice as dry as before. Ryo's words annoyed him even more. "Good thing I'm not then, huh."  
Ryo didn't realise how bad he was feeling and laughed.

Kame had never been this angry with Ryo. Kame felt like he was discovering that his kindness was just a misleading appearance. How could he talk like that? It was obvious he wouldn't be sitting next to Kame if he'd known the truth. Why was this guy, one he'd already often felt rather close to in the past, be ready to despise him for so little? Where was his logic? Kame couldn't understand and was having trouble hiding his disappointment. He had hoped Ryo would be there to defend him in front of Yamapi, for example. But he realised he couldn't count on it. His only solution would therefore be to not talk about his personal realisations to anyone.

He told himself he'd probably just been worried about how Pi would react to that kind of thing because he wasn't exactly close to him. And because Pi was extremely popular and made dumb jokes about other Juniors - not mean though, unlike what Ryo had said. No matter how accepting other people might be, Kame wouldn't take the risk with anyone.  
Now he was spending several moments thinking about it, he realised that maybe Ryo had reacted that way only because they'd danced so close to each other... maybe because he hated Ueda. Or maybe he was an asshole with bad principles. Maybe he'd at least get better after growing up.

Kame was pulled out of his negative thoughts when Jin sprawled onto the chair next to him, his hands helplessly trying to cover his head. 

"Jin?? Your-"

"My hair, I know!!" He exclaimed, sounding desperate. "After our afternoon in the onsen, Pi and the others trapped me somewhere to do this... horrible thing," he whined, "they said it was my birthday present but... a forced hairdye is anything but a present!"

Jin's arms flopped onto the table and he buried his face in them. The sight made Kame laugh uncontrollably. How nice it was to end the day with a familliar funny sight, helping his mood go back to somethimg less dark - all the more enjoyable since it was Jin.

"It's not funny!" Jin said, looking back up and frowning.

"Come on, Jin..." Kame replied, trying to look more sober. "I think it suits you well. Blond looks good on you!"

Jin muttered an unhearable answer against the table, but his mood was obviously much better when he lifted his face to sit back normally.

"Which evening do you want to party? Tonight or tomorrow?" Kame asked.

"With me, everday life is 'Work hard... Party hard'," he said with a snort, but Yamapi gave a more detailed and amused answer as he sat down with them.

"Jin is busy with his dear Shizu tonight... I asked her," Jin looked taken aback, but Pi ignored him, "she said we'd probably all party together tomorrow. Not tonight."

"You talked to her?? You better not have told her rubbish about me!!" Jin exclaimed, obviously panicked. His blush only made Yamapi laugh harder.

"Stop worrying, I'm on your side, baka," Yamapi said, almost to reassure him. "Well... on your side if you tell me everything about it afterwards," he added, a pervert smile on his lips.

The group spent all evening teasing Jin, and it's with a stomach tightened by anxiety that Jin got up before dessert, with the excuse of needing to get ready for his night.

Jin was however not the only one feeling uneasy. The R-rated descriptions given by Yamapi and Ryo made Kame want to throw up - he didn't want to imagine Jin doing such things with her. Of course, during the first few days of Jin and Shizu's relationship, the couple-moment images that came to Kame's mind had been a source of pleasure. But now, he couldn't help feeling betrayed.

Kame hadn't expected Jin to change his mind regarding that relationship. He hadn't expected a promise regarding what he and Jin were doing either.   
But he had just on purpose avoided being fully conscious of a natural development that would be likely to occur. What was going to happen tonight wasn't surprising for a couple, in particular for a couple bakanishi was in. Kame just hadn't expected to be confronted to such an event so soon.

Tonight, Jin and Shizu's bodies would get so close, so intimate with each other, that a strong emotional bond would certainly finally take shape. Kame knew that after that, whatever moment he personally enjoyed with his best friend would become insignificant to the older one. The younger was doomed to become a simple bonus one can eventually avoid. Once Jin's desires were satisfied with his girlfriend, he probably wouldn't need Kame anymore for anything. The more Kazuya thought of it, the more he realised he may be about to lose everything.

But after all, what was the point of torturing himself over that potential evolution? He'd never had a special place in Jin's life, other than being a substitute - now useless. Why couldn't Kame simply abandon his dumb hopes for good? Despite his will to get over it, no matter how much Kame tried to be reasonable, Jin kept sneaking back into his mind. His sadness made him have thoughts even more negative then they probably should have been.

His eyes met Ueda's gaze who'd just been watching from a neihbouring table. The blonde made a discrete gesture to ask him to get up, and then immediately left his seat to walk towards their room too. Kame also got to his feet, wished everyone a good night, and followed Ueda. The path's stones were still hot due to the sunny day they'd had, but a soft wind made the ambiant temperature more bearable.

"Where is our room again?" Kame asked as he caught up.

"You don't have to care about remembering that, since that's not where we'll be spending our evening anyway. You better keep your promise," Ueda added, when he heard Kame sigh. The younger didn't answer, so Ueda decided to voice his thoughts.

"Why are you so depressed anyway? You were making unusual dark faces through all dinner."  
If Ueda had noticed, Kame was surprised that no one else had.

"I'm not depressed," he finally said.

"Kamenashi. I'm not blind."

"Yeah, well stick to what's your business. I think you already have enough stuff about Itoh-sensei to fill up all your thoughts."

Ueda's face darkened, so Kame tried to change his voice tone that had unexpectedly become aggressive. His words therefore became kinder.

"I'm sorry I talked about him, if that bothers you. I just... I admit I hadn't expected what I heard you say on the beach. About you two. I mean... he's like 10 years older than you."

Maybe Ueda was used to that sort of comment, because he seemed to have relaxed again.

"His age is just a number. We don't care."

Their difference did bother Kame, but he decided to drop that topic for now.

"... What happened with him exactly?" He asked instead.

But Ueda took advantage of the fact that they'd just arrived to open the room's door and avoid the question.

Jin was in the middle of the room, the clothes he'd brought had gotten thrown all over the place. He turned around and seemed relieved to see Kame walk in.

"Kazuya, help. I don't know what to wear. What are we supposed to look like on a date? I mean... on a date where you're anyway not supposed to keep your clothes on for a long time."

Kame didn't have the time to answer - someone had already snorted behind him.

"How do you know that for sure? You might have to keep your clothes on, she isn't necessarily gonna be in the mood for anything."

Jin turned towards Ueda, surprised to hear him voice his opinion on such a personal matter. Ueda usually seldom talked to him.

"Because, Ueda, no one can resist to me, baka."  
He was joking, but Ueda didn't laugh. 

"I certainly can."

Jin was once more taken aback, by what Ueda was saying in such a serious voice. Was he making fun of Jin as if he'd enjoyed his joke? Ueda usually looked like he didn't give a shit about his jokes. Jin had no idea what was going through Tatsuya's head.

"Yeah, well... you're a guy, so..." he replied, obviously sounding confused.

The result was even worse: as soon as Ueda heard those words he started laughing, as if Jin had said the dumbest thing. The latter gave up his attempt at understanding anything from that mysterious guy. Jin shrugged and went back to facing Kame.

"I'd like to hear your recommendations, Kazu. Are these boxers OK or should I look for others?"

Kame hadn't felt good as soon as he'd stepped in, but now it was even worse. He suddenly felt like he was suffocating. What's more, it was as if nausea took over all his senses, making him feel even more disgusted by the topic.  
...No, he didn't want to think of what was going to happen tonight. He tried to look as normal as he could, but he still looked tense. He tried harder. His best friend needed him, he ought to be there for him.

"It's fine like that, Jin. Don't worry, she-"

"I don't want to simply be _fine_ , I want to be _irresistible_ , you know that." Jin interrupted jokingly.

Kame tried to laugh, but the sound that left his lips sounded forced.  
"She won't be able to resist you, I promise."

This promise reminded the younger of the first night they'd spent together... the evening where everything had started. That time, Jin had also needed to be reassured like that... but Kame knew that this night wouldn't end the same way.   
Kame's smile became tense again, his lips disobeying his will to look enthusiastic. He pretended to start making his bed so that he could hide his expression. Ueda then abandonned his silence again.

"What are you doing Kame? It's not bed-time for you. Do I have to remind you we're going out?"

Kame was tempted to let himself fall head first on the bed, to evacuate his frustration. He leant on his arms instead, while breathing out to try not to show his anger. Ueda had no idea what kind of Jin-crisis he may have accidentally started. Couldn't he shut up?! Why did everyone seem to be inclined to make the evening as uncomfortable as it could get?

"What?!" Jin retorted, "Kazuya... you can't do that to me! What am I going to do if you're not here?"

Before his reason could take control over his boiling anger, Kame felt his irritation spread to his whole body. He couldn't think, in his mind he was only swearing. Before he realised it, words had already escaped his lips. When he heard his furious icy voice, Kame barely recognized himself.

"You fuck your fucking girlfriend, OK? That's all you have to do."

Jin stared at him in a way he'd never done before, his own voice lost. Kame wasn't a vulgar person. He didn't easily get so worked up. So why had he spoken with such a scary tone? And so rudely?? After a few moments of silence when they just stared at each other, both shocked by what Kame had just said, Jin finally became able to speak again.

"Don't talk about my girlfriend like that," he said coldly and finished getting ready in silence, after muttering : "Go out then, I don't fucking care."

As usual, Jin wanted to hide the fact that he was hurt by pretenting a total disinterest

Kame stayed unmoving, still shocked. He had tried to contain all his frustration, but all his strength had abandoned him for an instant. Now that he'd shown his real face and his real feelings, it was hard to put his mask back on and smile casually, while deep inside he'd never felt this bad. He tried to discreetly take more deep breaths to calm down, but nothing helped his anger disappear and he had to bite his lips to stop them from visibly trembling. Not wanting Jin to see him like this, he walked out without a word.

Ueda was still inside, not knowing where he should stand and what he should do after everything he had witnessed... part of the tension having erupted due to things he'd said himself. As Tatsuya uncomfortably lingered near the door, wondering how he could repair his mistake, Jin was putting his stuff back in order, his gestures rushed and his voice muttering inaudible words.

"Akanishi-kun..." Ueda tried. Jin looked up, obviously still annoyed, but Ueda decided to continue what he'd intended to say anyway: "You know... don't pay too much attention to what Kame said tonight. He didn't mean it."

Jin scoffed.  
"What, do you think you know him better than I do? Is that it?"

"I do know him better than you probably think I do."

"I also know him much better than anything you can imagine, so don't act like you know something I don't."

"What I know is that Ryo and I pissed him off a lot when we were at the beach. So he was already in a bad mood before talking to you. I thought taking him out would help him forgive me, but... you forbade him to come with me. So you're making his shitty day end with a shitty evening. Anyone would get mad. What's your right to decide what he can do?"

"I don't forbid him anything!"

Jin gave Ueda one of his darkest looks. Finally ready to go, he stopped in front of him before leaving.

"Stop imagining that you know everything about Kazu, you didn't get anything right, OK? Keep your mind on your own business and stay out of ours."

He immediately walked out, not waiting to see Ueda's reaction.

***

A nocturnal breeze caressed his face, its genteless contrasting with what had just happened. Jin took a deep breath and was about to go on his way when he saw Kame, leaning his back against the wall, eyes closed. His tense expression however still revealed his state of mind. Jin's thoughts went back to what Ueda had just said... his heart tightened when he imagined Kame's painful day and probably disappointed emotions. But his imagination was still far from picturing what Kame was actually feeling. 

Jin's instinct was telling him to go apoligize... but what for? What had he really done wrong this time? Before he finally stepped away, Jin tried to reassure himself by putting the responsibility of Kame's bad mood all on Ueda and Ryo. 

Despite these thoughts, he was unable to feel at peace with their scene, and it was with an unexplainable feeling of unease that he moved forwards on his path. While he was going towards Shizu, he didn't notice Kame's eyes on him, following him until he was out of sight.


	8. Chapter 8

The music's beat sent vibrations through Ueda's body, awakening his senses. This was where he felt the most at home: in the darkness of this place, age or social status didn't matter. Only hot bodies and talents at dancing were important, as well as some suggestive looks. As Ueda quickly learned, some of those looks could be very useful when one needed a service. That's how he and Kame had got to enter the club despite being too young. Here, like during Johnny activities, Ueda drew lots of attention. It wasn't precisely his excentric appearance that did that; despite his real age, Ueda still looked very young and that didn't stop him from dancing very sensually.

Out the corner of his eyes, he watched Itoh-sensei standing at the bar, talking to someone while waiting for cocktails. The teacher was acting as if he hadn't noticed Ueda's presence, so the latter decided to take the next step. Tatsuya noticed a charming young man who had kept looking at him ever since they'd arrived.

***

Kame let the music encompass him too, in the hope it would silence his thoughts and numb his body. Maybe it would miraculously help him forget everything... it wasn't working yet.

Leaning against a wall in a dark corner, he was cloistered in his own bubble. It was strange to realise how easy it was to feel alone despite being surrounded by so many people. Maybe some of these dancers, looking for physical vicinity with random people, also suffered from a feeling of loneliness.

A familiar voice made him get back to his senses.

"Poor Kame-chan, I think Ueda lied to me. Are you sure you came here from your own free will?"

Kame opened his eyes to discover it was indeed the teacher talking to him. He felt a lump in his throat and decided not to speak straight away, afraid of making another stupid mistake: he already regretted the harsh words he's spoken to Jin and didn't want to let his emotions take control over him once again. After drawing a breath, he tried to relax enough to be able to speak calm words.

"I didn't really want to come here, but it's a long story."

The teacher looked a bit amused and almost tempted to ruffle his hair. He however held back, probably not wanting to make Kame feel even worse. There was a good chance the older saw him like a newbie who needed help.

"Take care, Kame. I wouldn't recommend staying alone in dark corners like this."  
Kazuya didn't reply, so Itoh-sensei continued with a question he had to ask:  
"Tell me, doesn't it bother you that Ueda is being unfaithful to you like this?" 

Kame took a look at the dancefloor and was surprised to see Ueda kissing someone he'd never seen before, with no shame. A deep kiss. But Kame didn't really know what someone should or shouldn't be ashamed of in a situation like this - it was his first time going to a club. It was in particular the first time he saw men sensually kissing, and in other circumstances he would have found the sight very pleasing. It didn't mean he found Ueda more attractive than the others, it was just... an interesting sight.

"There's absolutely nothing between Ueda and me, and there never will be. He can do whatever he wants, I don't care."

Itoh-sensei looked a bit confused, but still kindly interested. 

"What are you doing here, then?" Sensei asked, "are you... not straight?"  
He kept an eye on Kame, waiting for an answer, but since there was none, he went on.  
"I'm just wondering because you don't look like anyone here caught your eye, despite some of them looking very charming," he added, turning his head to look at the young man he'd earlier been talking to at the bar.  
Kame didn't care about who the teacher was interested in, what a weird conversation this was...  
The ending was however even worse.

"I also thought you wanted to party or do fun stuff with your friend Jin tonight, as usual."

The last sentence was like a painful wake-up call: the frustration Kame had managed to slightly ease came back to the surface. It made him suddenly feel like he was suffocating again, in the small space of this club. He was unable to see the men kissing anymore, all he could see was Jin and Shizu's bodies, sweaty skin touching, only murmurs interrupting their kisses. His stomach hurt again.

"Kame-chan... are you okay?" the teacher asked with a worried voice.

Was he okay? Kame would have liked to spend the evening lurking in the darkness, with no one approaching him or asking him questions. The more those nightmare images invaded his mind, the more sick he felt.

"I think I need to go back to the ryokan. I'm tired," Kame replied uncertainly, "Could you please tell Ueda I wasn't feeling well and had to leave?"

As soon as the teacher nodded, he hurried away, needing to feel some fresh air on his face to calm down.

***

Jin enjoyed how pleasant the scent of her soft skin was. Her long hair slightly got tangled with the fingers he'd only intended to stroke her with, but his move stayed gentle. Her anxious eyes stared at him in the semi-darkness of the room, so Jin looked at her with a smile, hoping that he could reassure her. 

She was so pretty and so considerate... everything had been arranged so that their night would be perfect. When she tightened her embrace around his chest, he realised her heart was beating as fast as his. He however wasn't sure it was for the same reason. She hesitatingly approached him, so Jin invited her to come even closer, his fingers slowly moving down her cheek. Their lips met into a slow kiss.

A moment later, Jin pulled back just to take his tshirt off - not without some struggling. It was the damn Tshirt Kame had made him buy. He mentally cursed his best friend when he finally managed to get rid of it, and sneaked back against Shizu to take her in his arms. Her silky nightclothes felt nice against his bare skin, so he tried to focus on that. 

Although those sensations were pleasant, something didn't feel right. He had been unable to calmly enjoy these moments from the start of the evening; it was as if something was holding Jin back, distracting him. He did think Shizu was beautiful... and her body was everything he'd ever wanted from a girl. He would have been too ashamed if he had failed to give her pleasure, so he'd thought it through in advance, picturing every gesture he ought to do. Thus, everything he did came from that reflection and not from feelings nor from instincts. His hesitant moves were not completely fluid, but the way Shizu's eyes closed and her pleased sounds echoed, it let him guess she was having a good time. Soon, it was her whole body Jin could feel against his own skin. It was nice, of course. But ...Jin had expected to feel a lot more turned on. 

For some mysterious reason, the next loud sigh that escaped her lips while he kissed her neck annoyed him. How could she sound so turned on when he could barely feel a thing? Maybe he was thinking too much?

"Jin..." she sighed, again, at the feeling of his touches. While she abandonned every single thought, Jin was having a more and more intense internal debate.

His first kisses with Shizu hadn't been amazing either. Maybe it would be the same thing with these more intimate moments. Jin didn't want to believe it was his fault he wasn't more excited. After all, Shizu hadn't made a single effort from the start, simply letting him guide her through it all. Why did she not try to do anything? She never taken a single initiative... Kazu, on the other hand, he...  
Jin quickly stopped that thought. 

He didn't want to think about his best friend now. He told himself that was the last thing to think about if he didn't want his tiny bit of excitement to disappear.

_You fuck your fucking girlfriend, OK? That's all you have to do._

No matter how hard Jin tried to concentrate on the beautiful girl in his arms, the memory of his fight started bothering him again. Damn Kame... why had he needed to get so angry, exactly at the moment when Jin needed peace of mind the most?

"Jin... I think I'm ready."

That whisper made Jin feel even more irritated. Luckily, The weak light didn't make his face visible enough for his state of mind to be obvious. He tried to return to his senses and stop being annoyed at her for no reason at all. Her inactive behaviour was probably due to her own anxiousness... and she was allowed to feel that way.

"We'll go on slowly, okay...?" He said softly.

But why couldn't he go on? His body still wasn't responding. Although in the past, just talking with Kame about doing this in the common room had got him hard.

Kazuya. Why did he have to always show up in his thoughts despite him being the last person Jin wanted to picture at that moment? He had a wonderful girl near him, a girl with a body so hot it would make anyone go crazy with lust. But it didn't change anything for Jin, he was unable to let go of his thoughts. After attempting to solve his problem one last time he failed.

Feeling extremely ashamed, Jin suddenly sighed and moved to sit on the side of the bed.

The moment's magic was lost. Shizu sat up, holding the cover over her chest, looking more and more confused. The young man had turned his back to her, shoulders low, a feeling of humiliation taking him over.

"Jin... what is it?"

When he looked back over his shoulder, he saw her look like she was about to cry. His terrible mood made him think things more cruel than he usually would, and he knew he'd later feel like an asshole for it, but he couldn't help it. His insecurities made him need to reject all the responsibility of his failure on her. These girls... not only they didn't do a thing to please guys, they also were way too sensitive. Jin still knew he'd better keep that kind of sentence to himself.

"I'm sorry," he said, looking for an explanation that wouldn't hurt her, but he didn't have many ideas. "...I had a fight with my best friend."  
At least, that was true. "And, well... I'm having a hard time not getting distracted." 

Maybe that had been too much of a confession. He didn't want to think about that fight. He buried his face in his hands.

Shizu on the other hand was relieved. She had been so worried that she was completely responsible for the evening ending like this.

"I see... I'm sorry" she said.

"No, don't say sorry. It's his fault," Jin muttered.

She stayed quiet for a few moments, not wanting Jin to think she was intruding. But in the end she did want to help him, so she tentatively asked: "Isn't there a way for you to reconcile?"

Jin nervously drew a hand through his hair, eyes lost, looking at nothing.

"It's... complicated."

Jin didn't even know why he was so mad at Kame, all he knew was the younger one had too strongly invaded his thoughts, at the worst moment. He needed to solve that problem as soon as possible, even if that meant already making up despite his friend's insult. For once, Jin was ready to make a sacrifice, if that would let him get his thoughts at peace again, or at least enough at peace for him to get to relax with his girlfriend. He would let Kame complain as much as he wanted, and turn the page. Because he couldn't let him ruin his sex life like this. 

Shizu didn't try to hold him back when he got up to put his jeans back on.

"I think I should go back to my room... your grandfather wouldn't be happy to see me here," he said, an attempted smile on his lips. His lighter tone only partly undid Shizu's uneasiness. When Jin kissed her one last time, it was her turn to get thoughtful. Despite Jin's reassuring words, she couldn't help having thousands of questions in mind, still wondering if she'd done something Jin hadn't liked.

***

Once outside, Jin stood without moving for a few moments, enjoying the silence only broken by flying insects. He hoped that he would manage to calm down and soon feel like his body was normal again...  
He still didn't really understand: when alone, he'd never had this kind of physical problem before. So why had it happened tonight? He hoped Shizu would have the decency to keep this incident to herself. Next time they would spend an evening together, Jin swore to himself that he would find a way to be faultless.  
His feet finally started to guide him towards the paved path, while he was still lost in his thoughts.

 

As he walked towards his group's room, Jin suddenly heard a sublte sound of water lapping. It sounded like someone was in one of the onsens outside, even though it was forbidden at this time of the night. Jin smirked.  
Conifers bordered the path he was on and blocked his view in that particular onsen's direction, so his curiosity made him make a detour to see who had disobeyed the ryokan's rules.

 

Mist was rising from the hot water's surface, getting lost into the dark sky. Very few low lights reached the onsen, from the neighbouring windows or from lanterns. The weak lighting still illuminated parts of his face in red light - the other ones staying hidden in shadow. Jin's heart beat erratically as his eyes moved from the water to the figure in the middle of the onsen. He knew that delicate silhouette very well, and his eyes lingered lower, down the wet body that caught moonlight. More mist rose from that beautiful skin. 

He had already seen Kame naked before, but this enchanting garden made the younger look like he came from another world, and Jin surprised himself with how fascinated he was with this sight. All his earlier anger had evaporated, leaving an emptiness in his thoughts instead. A peaceful emptiness enabling him to feel mesmerized, without wondering too much about why he was feeling that way. Overthinking was one of the things that had ruined the beginning of his evening; he was done with that.

An unfamiliar feeling made his lower stomach feel weird, as if it was clenching in need for something. A breath he hadn't realised holding escaped his lips. He also didn't notice he was biting his lower lip when he saw more of Kame's body come out of the water, when the younger was moving to a less deep part of the onsen. Jin's breath stopped every time his eyes lingered on a detail, memorising the way Kame's skin almost shone. The way his muscles contracted. The way wet hair stuck against his forehead or moved onto his temples.

"Jin... what are you doing here?"

Kame's whisper made Jin interrupt his contemplation. His voice was neutral, not showing any remnants of bitterness after their earlier quarrel.

The calm summer night in such a peaceful garden had somehow taken all resentment away. The excrutiating heat only let them abandon all thoughts and let themselves be lulled by the tranquillity.

"I... I came here for a swim," Jin replied.

Kame went back into deeper water to swim towards the edge Jin was standing on. Once there, he leaned against the closest big rock that emerged high out of the water. He was so near... water now covered him up to his chest, and the soft red light fell accross his skin just like it did for Jin.

When their eyes met, Jin had a feeling the younger's gaze wasn't the same as usual. The strong humidity, the incense, and the almost full darkness made the atmosphere even heavier.

Jin slightly shivered when he took his clothes off, as if he knew it wasn't just a regular swim that was awaiting him. Also, seeing Kame watch his every move as he undressed made Jin feel even more light-headed. Parts of his body seemed to randomly tighten. His thoughts had lost any coherence in the midst of the mist. 

Kame didn't refrain from boldy drinking in the sight of Jin stepping into the onsen. How beautiful he was... how breathtaking it was to see him undress to join him. The light danced on their skin at the same rythm as the ripples the older caused moved on the surface. 

Jin slowly glided through the water until he was only inches away from Kame, and tried to smile to help his thoughts unfreeze. The piercing gaze that answered only made him feel even more vulnerable. Everything felt so unreal. Water rippled some more against their chests when Kame abandonned the rock behind him to approach him even more, taking in the pleasant scent of his skin - that gesture alone made Jin feel Kame's light breath on his skin.

Their faces roamed near each other, hesitating gazes meeting, lips parting nervously. Their actions had rarely been this slow, but they had also rarely been so mesmerizing. Kame finally raised a warm hand out of the water to lay it on Jin's face, slowly pushing a few hair strands out of the way. He was still staring at him when he slowly slid his fingers to his nape... and pulled Jin's luscious lips against his, for a sensual and slow kiss.

Jin closed his eyes, letting the sensuality of the moment take him over. Seeing that he wasn't pushed away, Kame came even closer, leaving no more space between them. Jin felt his knees weaken at this new closeness, feeling Kame's chest against his. He wasn't used to Kame guiding him this way. After Shizu's inertia, he could only appreciate that he had no need to think or even to make an effort.

He was unable to hold back a shiver when Kame's hand left his face to settle on his low back and press their bodies together even harder. He didn't even notice the low sound he made when the younger's lips abandonned his mouth to kiss his neck instead. 

Jin's head tilted backwards as he complety gave in to all the pleasure Kame was giving him.

"Kazuya..." he breathed.

Kame silently made both of them glide through the water towards the other side of the rock, to avoid unwanted eyes seeing what they were up to.

Once there, he pushed Jin's back against it to kiss him harder, faster, as if he would never get enough of it, to which Jin responded with just as much eagerness. How talented and... addictive Kame's mouth was. Jin's fingers finally went through the younger's hair and his chest moved to meet Kame's again. Because he needed that closeness again.

Kazuya interruped his kiss to look at Jin's face. They stared at each other in silence, the only sounds coming from their moves in water and their deep breaths.

"Is something wrong?" Jin asked, his heart fluttering.

Kame's only answer was to smile. For some reason, that smile felt more intimate than the ones Jin was used to. He then took hold onto the onsen's edge to lift himself high enough to sit on it.

"Ka... Kazuya, wait, where are you going?" Jin asked in an unsure voice, fearing that Kame was just about to abandon him.

Kame just kept smiling, this time looking more amused, and outstretched a hand towards him.

"We're getting out."

"Huh?! I don't want to go back to our room. Come back here..." Jin said, sounding disappointed.

"Who said we're going back to the room?"

Jin was obviously having doubts, but in the end he also leaned onto the edge to push himself up, and sat next to him. Kame let his gaze stop on Jin's wet body; it was so close to him, how could he resist admiring it? Drinking in the sight of his beautiful tanned body again, he also couldn't help wondering where Shizu had touched him.

"Admit it, you're jealous of my nipples, is that it?" Jin said jokingly.

"Baka... we should have stayed in the water, at least you didn't talk there."

Jin's lips parted in a big smile full of affection.

"Kazu-chan... you're just too cute," he said, still jokingly, but his voice had slightly wobbled.

"...Shut up." Kame replied, biting his lips to stop them from also spreading into such a big smile.

Jin did laugh... but his laughter was interruped by a tender kiss. It suddenly felt so intimate. Kissing in such a romantic place, Jin not taking Kame's stares in a bad way... and of course, kissing naked. That was the thing they had expected the least to happen this week-end. 

They soon found themselves lying down on the stone edge, which was still very warm because of that day's cloudless sky. Being out of water gave their closeness a whole new dimension, and their breaths suddenly grew less silent. Jin's behaviour made Kame confident enough to let his desires lead him further. He let his lips taste places he'd never approached before. Earlobe. Lower neck. Shoulder.  
Their still warm bodies were melting into each other, legs intertwined. For once, Jin let Kame lead the way. 

Kazuya's tongue was on his neck again. A hand gently caressed his waist. Jin ignored the sound he made as goosebumps appeared on his skin. Kame then slid his hand down to his hip. His fingers stayed there, and held on tighter... repeating what Jin had done in the shower the other day. That felt nice, Jin thought...

He shivered when he felt Kame's hand slowly go between his thighs. What?! Was Kame really going to...? Yes. Kame was touching him there. Jin felt Kame's fingers tighten around his cock and stopped breathing. The first moment got him so hard his hips twitched. Kame's hand was still there, holding him tight... sliding up. A whimper escaped Jin's lips and he freaked out. He breathed heavily, this time not from peaceful pleasure.

"Kazuya..." he breathed, "what are you doing?"

It wasn't a place to be touched by a friend. He also thought he shouldn't be reacting like this in such circumstances. Shivers because he was turned on... that should have happened with Shizu. Jin was starting to panic.

"What do you think I'm doing?" Kame replied, thinking Jin was just insecure and needed encouragement. He slowly kissed his jaw, to get him back to something he had got used to.

Jin was unable to let go of his scary thoughts, no matter how good this had initially felt. Weren't they going a step too far? After that, would they still be able to pretend there was nothing but an innocent friendship between them?

Kame realised Jin had become tense below him, and when their eyes met again, it was a worried look he saw. Kame then immediately took his hand off him and sent him an enquiring gaze. 

Jin could only look back, not finding the words to explain what he was feeling. Their bodies were still intertwined, but nothing of it felt natural to him anymore - unlike just a few moments ago. It was as if dark thoughts and anxiousness had suddenly overcome him.

Kame nervously licked his lower lip, not understanding the sudden and unexpected change in Jin's mood. All through their moments together, he had felt Jin's body below him _and_ the sound if his voice show the pleasure he was feeling. As for what Kame had just attempted to do, Jin's body had immediately responded. So... why?

When Kazuya leaned towards him to kiss him once more, in the hope of helping him relax, Jin violently pushed him away, and hurried to fold his legs to hide part of his body behind his knees.

How had the situation gone so downhill?

Jin's breath was still uneven, his heart thumping uncomfortably fast. He could still only stare at Kame, almost as if he'd never seen him before. 

His voice broke on the following words :

"...How can you think I want something like that??"

Kame felt like a steel box was closing around his lungs. The way Jin's voice sounded... it showed how distraught and lost he was.

The older's confused and scared gaze quickly became empty, and a cold mask covered his face. He pursed his lips and didn't leave Kazuya the time to answer: he disappeared in the shadows, his clothes in his arms.

 

Jin started running, revolted by the shivers still going through him. Luckily, Kame didn't try to catch up. Jin wasn't ready to face him right now. If only he could wake up and realise this whole evening had just been a dream.  
He tried to convince himself those shivers were only late reactions to Shizu's touch... but deep down he realised he was only trying to turn a blind eye on what had actually made him respond. The excuses he was trying to give himself failed more and more to reassure him. He didn't like all the mess there was in his head. All that had happened had been so unknown and... unexpected. He had to get over it, very quickly.

 

Kame was unable to move for a long time, paralysed by this sudden ending that filled his mind with doubts about the future. He didn't even feel the pain from the push he had got. His thoughts were way more painful. 

Would Jin only feel repulsion towards him from now on? He swallowed. His throat was so dry, and his lungs moved so fast... how could he calm down? How could not break down after Jin reacting like that? He slowly let himself slide lower, until he was lying down, face to the ground. He kept his forehead against the stones, as if he wanted to be swallowed by the earth. More than despair, it was weariness that was emptying him of all strength. He couldn't let himself hope anything anymore - not to end up so disappointed and hurt every time. His feelings were starting to exhaust him to an unbearable extent. The air he made himself breathe in only went back out of his mouth noisily and irregularly, while his heart beat faster and faster... he knew where Jin had gone. The peace that had earlier invaded his mind was now so far away. His lips trembled as he tried in vain to get back to his senses. A few drops of water were still rolling down his hair strands and reached his face. Some rolled down to his lips, and among them, some had a salty taste.

***

After these long hours of anxiousness, her eyes finally started to close as she was about to let herself fall asleep. However, her slumber was suddenly prevented by a barely audible sound: the door had slowly opened, and someone had slipped inside. She blinked, trying to get away from her sleepiness.

She then saw a profile against lights from outside. Of course she recognised him.

"Jin?"

Without a word, Jin dropped the clothes he'd been carrying and slowly slid beneath the bedcovers, next to her.

This time, he was ready.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> \- My apologies for writing such an annoying Ryo. My confession: at the time I first wrote these chapters, I had a really bad image of him. An old chibi interview of him and Kame where he made fun of Kame or KAT-TUN (can't remember) not being masculine enough had made me dislike him. But that was like 7-8 years ago, so... now I realise I exaggerated that perception too much. I don't hate Ryo anymore ;), I promise he won't endlessly be like this in my fic.
> 
> -My apologies for the mean stuff my characters say or think in general- fyi those are their thoughts, not mine.
> 
> -after this chapter, there will be only one left in the chibi days! Next chapter is the last one of part one. I look forward to getting to the next one!
> 
> Thank you for your patience !  
> I promise next chapter will come soon :).

Kame was spending an unusually quiet evening: the room's silence was only interrupted by the few noises his camera made. It was the birthday present he had never got the chance to give Jin... so in the end, he'd kept it for himself. He had already given him too much anyway. 

This evening, like many others since that week-end, Kame was alone in his room. Several months had gone by and Jin didn't come to dance with him anymore. At the beginning, he'd mentionned excuses for his unavailability, but now he didn't bother to.

What was the point of photographing city lights Kame saw through his window? Most of his pictures were blurry, but the activity at least pulled his thoughts away from certain topics, while he was waiting for his nocturnal visitor. 

As usual, Ueda entered his room around 3am, knowing that Kame probably wouldn't be asleep.

"Ueda... you stink."  
He'd smoked too much that evening, and Kame wasn't used to that scent.

Ueda ignored him and jumped on top of his bedcovers. Lying down next to him, he stretched and went on with his latest habit: telling Kame about his night out. He didn't know if the younger always listened to him, but merely having someone next to him when he spoke was enough to help him feel better. 

Kame was starting to know his stories by heart: every saturday night Ueda ended up either with a random person or with Itoh-sensei.

"I don't understand why you're doing this" Kame said, breaking his own silence. "Don't you think it would be healthier for you to give up on the teacher and try to have a true relationship with someone?"

When they had first started this nocturnal habit, Ueda would probably have frowned if Kame had said that. But now he trusted Kame to be talking seriously and not to be making fun of him.   
Ueda didn't frown, but his face did look a bit sad.

"I don't care about having something stable, I just want Itoh-sensei."

Kame sighed.

" ... I sincerely think it's hurting you more than it's doing you any good. You'd better try to see if you can somehow part ways with him."

Ueda pressed his palms against his own eyes. It was easy for Kame to give lessons like that. He hadn't went through what Ueda had. It took him a while to answer, and his voice was barely audible.

"I can't give up. He was... my first guy. He will always be someone special for me."

Kazuya didn't really know what to say to that.

"You know, sometimes, to heal you have to completely cut ties for a while," he said after a moment of hesitation.

To Kame's suprise, Ueda snorted.

"Is that why you don't talk to Akanishi anymore?"

Those words immediately ruined his mood.

"Bullshit. I still talk to him."

"Yeah... sure." Ueda said and rolled his eyes. "Barely."

Kame closed his eyes and tried to hold back his emotions.

"Ueda, keep your thoughts on what's your business. This has nothing to do with what I told you" he lied.

Ueda contented himself to settle more comfortably on the bed, a knowing grin on his lips.

"You better not fall asleep here." Kame muttered after a few more moments. "You _do_ stink."

There was no answer.

"Oii!!"

Kame turned his head to look at Tatsuya and realised he had indeed already fallen asleep. He groaned but didn't say anything else.

The younger often wondered how Ueda could keep hoping for more than one-night stands with his teacher after all those disappointments: all the times he'd been considered nothing more than a toy, and the times he'd been ignored.

Kame, as far as he was concerned, had put an end to all of Jin's games. He was more and more sure Jin had taken none of their moments seriously and that he had been used...  
At least, that was he thought when he was in a dark mood, despite the memory of some of Jin's behaviours still confusing him. He couldn't understand what was going on in the older's mind.   
Anyway, he wanted to put all that experience behind him. Since the onsen's episode, the distance he'd kept between them had stopped any of their unusual habits from going on. 

At the beginning of his and Ueda's new evening habit, Kame had been a bit jealous of him. The latter seemed to be totally fine with talking about his homosexuality and seemed to do everything he could to enjoy his life. But the more he found out about his nights out, the less that kind of lifestyle tempted him. He could see that although Ueda was smiling and looked detached, he wasn't happy.

That's why Kame didn't dare wake him up. He left his room instead, unable to fall asleep anyway.

***

Without a sound, Jin stepped through their building's entrance, thinking everyone was asleep. He walked through corridors in the dark, trying to keep an eye out not to bump into something. The moments he'd just spent at his girlfriend's place still dominated his thoughts and he couldn't help having a telling smile on his lips. His Shizu-chan was much better at sharing intimate moments now, and he felt more and more comfortable with her - there hadn't been a single other incident after that onsen week-end. Every time he went to see her, he was careful to leave every thought about Kame at the door, and had managed to stop thinking about their fights or tense moments in such situations.

However, in everyday life out of Shizu's room, reality resurfaced and stayed on his mind, as well as his feeling of loss. He didn't want to show it, but the loss of his close friendship had left a feeling of emptiness in him.

But he needed that distance to one day be able to go back to a normal friendship with Kame. Or rather, to go back to the perfect friendship they'd had before all those games had started. Everything had then been so simple... he hadn't felt any confusion. It had been a carefree friendship. But they had got too close... to the point something had broken.

Jin decided go get a snack from the common room. That place was just as dark as the corridor, but he still tiptoed towards the table without turning the light on.

That's when a sigh that made him jump in surprise - he looked away from where he was stepping and tripped with a bang.

"Fuck!" Jin muttered, abandonning all hope to discreetly go to his room.

The sigh from the couch turned into an annoyed but familiar huff, the person obviously not happy to be woken up.

"Kame, is that you?" Jin whispered.

"Who else than Jin would wake me up in the middle of the night? I should have expected that."

Jin felt his cheeks grow warmer.  
"I didn't know you were here..."

Their voices weren't cold, but they were far from being as enthusiastic as they would have been months earlier.

They hadn't expressly fallen out, but the distance between them was almost as tangible as the effort they were making to almost talk as if nothing was wrong.

Kame's sleepy head showed up, his hair completely messed up. He lay his chin on the back of the couch, blinking to try to get back to full consciousness and see Jin despite the darkness. The latter didn't move.

After a few silent moments, Jin mumbled an apology with a "Good night" and left.

Kazuya slumped back onto the couch and closed his eyes. Jin hadn't even asked him what he was doing there. Kame tried to avoid thinking about his friend too much, but no matter how much he pushed thoughts away, some of them kept coming back. He secretly wondered if the blonde felt his daily absence the same painful way he did. That didn't mean he wanted to get his best friend back straight away: to avoid further pointless torture, Kame hoped that keeping a distance would help his feelings slowly go away.

***

Days and weeks went by, without anything special happening. Jin and Kame's relationship was still cordial but everyone realised that something had changed. However, both of them rejected all questions, without giving precise answers.

KAT-TUN members ended up being one day brought to a gymnasium with other juniors for a sports class, and they were joined by a group of young boys they'd never seen.

"Did Johnny-san suddenly recruit a ton of new people or what?" Jin asked, puzzled.

"It's not for their looks that they were selected, that's for sure." Ueda muttered.

The referee interrupted them, requiring them to concentrate on their own game.

"Leave them alone, they're not Juniors like you, they're athletes. Their Tokyo Metropolitan is being renovated so Johnny-san allowed them to come here. Now, it's your turn to serve Kamenashi-kun."

Kame made the volley ball rebound on his hands and sent it on the other side of the net, where Ryo tried to hit it. But when the ball met the NEWS member's hands, it flew behind him instead of going back towards KAT-TUN. Ryo's whine turned into a yell of relief when Tegoshi managed to send it back.

"Akanishi, stay where you are! Don't go step on Tanaka's feet!" the teacher shouted when Jin ran backwards, but too late: the members had already run into each other.

Kame snorted before he could hold it back. The pile at his feet was just too funny. When Jin furiously looked up at him, the laughter died on his lips. But Jin's fury disappeared and he started looking sulky instead. Kame relaxed, brave enough to smile again.

Yamapi did the next service and Kame's run was interrupted when Jin shouted "I GOT IT!!" and ran in his direction. When the older hit the volleyball, it was sent way too far away. 

"Um, actually I don't..." Jin confessed with a nervous laugh as he turned towards Kame. "Sorry."

"...Baka."

Two hours and bruises later, the juniors went on a break and Ryo and Uchi took advantage of the free time to go see the new-comers. Kame wondered whether the athletes would fall for his "friend"'s innocent looks; Ryo would just have to open his mouth and speak one of his mean thoughts to break the illusion. When the two NEWS members returned a few minutes later, Uchi looked confused.

"They're a bit weird.. they weren't happy to find out there are only shared showers here. I thought sportsmen were used to that kind of thing" he said.

"Don't waste your time trying to understand..." Ryo replied with a mysterious voice, "they've got their own reasons." 

That's when the teacher called them back and put an end to their conversation.

 

For KAT-TUN, the second half of the lesson was just as much a disaster as the first one. This time, when Jin shouted "I GOT IT! I GOT IT!" Kame ignored him, jumped and hit the ball arriving on his side. 

"Awesome spike Kame!!" Jin exclaimed with a smile. He looked proud of Kame's achievement, and for once, only Kame could see he was still a little bit nervous.

"See what happens when you let me get it?" Kame joked. He was good at acting, so maybe Jin wouldn't see he was nervous too.

"What, don't I always let you get them?"

Kame smirked and rolled his eyes.  
"Jin... forget it."

After that episode, the "I GOT..." cries became more discreet and Jin tried to stay in his own spot. Kame was feeling unexpectedly good: instead of seeing their exchange like an argument, he had almost felt it like a return to their usual way of talking. Even though he could see Jin's smiles weren't entirely relaxed, their relationship had lately improved. They could now talk to each other with less discomfort and even laugh, which made Kame hope their deep personal connection wasn't completely lost.

As for what went further than friendship... Kame didn't want to think about that.

At the end of class, the juniors scattered, some of them going to the changing rooms, others collapsing on the floor again to take a breath before leaving.

"Guys, I'll go back to our building to shower. See ya," Ryo said as he got up. When he saw Pi's confused look, he leaned down to whisper to him.

"So what?" Pi replied, not bothering to keep his voice down.

Ryo arched an eyebrow as if Yamapi's question made no sense. The tallest got up with a sigh and muttered "Who says he'd be checking you out anyway-"

"What are you talking about?" Jin interruped, intrigued.

"Ryo-chan is scared one of the athletes will check him out if he showers with everyone. One of them is gay... and Ryo, well, he's a chicken," he said and laughed.

"Ee??" Jin hastily replied. "No... really??"

"Jin, stop making that face, you look like you don't even know what 'gay' means," Pi joked before lightly hitting his head.

Ryo's voice then made Kame's blood go cold.

"Come on, you know what it means. Just look at Kame."

Jin spun around to stare at Ryo. But his surprised stare quickly turned into an irritated frown.  
"Ryo stop saying bullshit, fuck off!" he aggressively snarled.

"Calm down, I was just joking. If you defend him like that, I guess the rumours that say you now hate each other are false."

Jin still looked angry.  
"Ryo. You're so fucking dumb."

He irritably got up, and left without looking back.

"What the fuck is wrong with him? Can't I even make a joke??"

Kame shrugged, telling himself he might raise suspicions if he reacted more violently. But it was more and more hard for him to contain his own anger. Why had Ryo become like this? Or was that just a particularly ridiculous side of his bad humour? He was relieved to see everyone already leaving, but when he started following Koki, Nakamaru and Junno towards the exit, Ueda held him back.

"What?" Kame muttered, annoyed.

"You're going to stay to use these showers with me," he said, then added "please?" when he saw his face. At least, the question was a sign Ueda considered him more as a friend now, instead of just someone to tease.

Kame groaned.  
"Why the fuck should I do that?"

Ueda grinned, hoping his reason would successfully tempt Kame.  
"The athlete. I want to see what he looks like."

***

That evening, Kame was grumbling while looking through his wardrobe.

"Do I really have to go?"

Ueda looked at him pointedly from the bed.

"Of course you have to. It's not everyday we have a guys-only night. For once, Ryo got a good idea."

"A good idea?" Kame shook his head. "I don't want to get to know those athletes."

Of course, Ueda didn't stop insisting.  
"It's not because the one we saw in the showers was tiny that the others w-"

"He wasn't tiny" Kame interrupted. "He's just one year younger than me."

"Who cares, he looks like a baby. But maybe one of the others will be like us. Anyway, if they're boring, we can escape to a club I know nearby."

Kame gave up on arguing - after all, deep down he knew going out with new people might do him some good. In the end he chose a tanktop, jeans and put them on. He then started wondering what to do with his hair - he'd recently had it cut shorter, so he felt like doing something new.

"Do that thing you did after the shower. The thing in the middle that looked like a subtle mohawk or something. It looked cool... maybe it will turn Ryo gay" Ueda said and snorted. He hadn't got over Ryo's shitty joke.

"Don't talk about that guy." Kame said dryly, while he nonetheless followed Ueda's advice. "I don't want to be friends with him anymore. He's lucky I'm not a violent person because-" Kame pressed his lips together and tried to calm down before saying something crazy. He usually never spoke like this. No wonder people suspected something was wrong with him.

"He's dumb, ignore him" Ueda said. "Anyway, Jin defended you, so you shouldn't worry."

Kame froze when he heard Jin's name. Before he could hold it back, a question he had in mind since the beginning of the evening came out.

"Ueda... would you by any chance know if Shizu is coming?"

The other shrugged.

"I don't think so. But... Kame, you should stop thinking about this."

"About what?" Kame asked, pretending he had no idea what Ueda was thinking about.

"I'm not stupid, I can see something happened between you and Jin!"

The younger's teeth clenched. Ueda saying that again and again exasperated him.

"If you think so, then you are stupid." Kame replied and turned back towards the mirror with a frown on his face.

After a long silence, Ueda ended up leaving, muttering that he also needed to get ready. He mentally concluded that Kame definitely needed a drink or two... or ten that night.

***

Meanwhile, Jin was lurking on Yamapi's bed while the latter chose the sunglasses he'd wear.

"Pi. It's night time... why do you want to wear sunglasses?"

"Because I'm Yamapi" he answered jokingly, and Jin spotted a wink in the mirror.  
While rearranging his hair, Pi saw Jin squash his face into the pillow. He knew that meant something was bothering him... which seemed to happen a lot lately.

"Ok Jin, what's wrong with you tonight? You look like you feel like shit, even if there's a party awaiting us. What is it?"

"Nothing" said Jin, his voice, almost muted by the pillow. But Yamapi obviously didn't believe him.

"Come on, I know you. Is it because of what Ryo said earlier?"

Jin didn't answer.

"You know... personally, I wouldn't be surprised if Kame really is gay."  
Somehow, the tone he was using was much kinder than the way Ryo had spoken. But it still annoyed Jin to hear people say that - as if they knew Kame as well as he did!

"Don't get started on this... not you too!"   
Jin had raised his face and was blushing. Or maybe he hadn't had enough air to breathe... that would be a more reassuring reason. "Believe me, it's not true, okay?"

Yamapi said nothing and went back to getting ready. The other sighed into his bedcover, at least relieved that Pi had dropped the topic. Jin had spent all these weeks that felt like eternity trying to ignore what had happened. Trying to lose his habits of wanting to take Kame in his arms to tease him. The onsen's events had made him understand such gestures weren't meant to be done between two friends. It was out of question for him to continue, he _wasn't_ gay and Kazuya wasn't either. However, while he told himself that, his heart tightened. He always ignored that kind of sign and tried to get his mind on something else.

After these weeks of distance, he now managed to feel less confused when he saw his best friend, and almost felt ready to go back to talking to him about anything, just like before. Although Kazuya had looked angry in the beginning, he now also seemed to have turned the page. With that day's Volleyball match, Jin had a good hope they were finally ready for their friendship have a fresh new start. However, Ryo mentionning that sensitive subject had made him feel insecure again.

"Anyway," Yamapi said, his hairdo done, "I'll have a surprise for Kame tonight. We'll see how he reacts."

"What?! What kind of surprise??"

Yamapi sniggered.  
"You'll see Jinjin, you'll see. Just make sure Shizu won't know about it."

Jin frowned, full of doubt.

"Come on, stop sulking, you'll see, it will be awesome."

***

When they met up in the common room, Kame was surprised to see Jin come see him.

"Hey Kame, is that a new hairdo?"

"...What do you think?" Kame asked, and Jin smirked.

"Don't worry, I won't mess it up!"

Kame hadn't expected something like that but didn't show it.

"You better not do that or... you can say goodbye to your blond hair."  
At those words, Jin's face lit up with a beautiful smile. Why was Jin smiling like that??

"What's making you so happy?" Kame asked, raising a thin eyebrow.

"Kazuya, you and I will show these guys what a real party is like. They'll all regret not being Johnny's."  
That was the kind of thing Jin would have told him months ago, when everything was alright. Maybe that meant their friendship could already be alright again - at that thought, Kame just had to smile back.

And so, they both left side to side, towards the place Pi and Ryo had booked. Until tonight, Kazuya had the impression he had slightly lowered his obsession with Jin, and had almost gone back to a normal life. He had thought he might be ready to go back to their close friendship without feeling the urge to hope for something more. However, despite his will, walking near his best friend again still made his heart beat faster. What he felt was a strange mix of excitement and anxiousness. He didn't want to fall for him again... he'd promised himself not to want Jin anymore. But how could he escape his feelings? He'd missed Jin as a friend... and of course, his heart had also missed that beautiful smile.


	10. Chapter 10

It was an afternoon just like any other for Haru. Sprawled accross his couch, he lazily went from one TV channel to another. He would have gladly taken a nap, but he had no motivation to already walk back to his bed and change the sheets. Those were still warm: tonight's sleep partner had just left. 

Haru was a man who was interested in nothing else than men. And rare were the ones who could resist him... except a certain Yuki who'd completely ignored him and left with a blonde weirdo - the memory of that failure still annoyed him. His adventures were usually simple one-night stands: the only thing he was looking for was moments of pleasure, without anything complicated to deal with in the long run. He wasn't against the idea of finding a long-term boyfriend, but he hadn't met the right person yet; his partners did sometimes look serious but always ended up disappointing him. Haru had therefore given up and decided to collect nice moments with random people, without needlessly overthinking.

That evening, he'd probably go to one of his usual gay bars and choose his next target. Maybe they'd stay in touch after that... after all, most of his friends had once spent a night with him. All of them, except Mika of course, since she was a girl. It was probably why they were so close, without anything ambiguous between them.

Just as he was thinking about potential clubs to go to, her name showed up on his phone.

"Haru!!" she enthusiastically said as soon as he picked up.

"Oi, don't shout so early..."

"Early? It's 5pm," she snorted. "Anyway, I need your help tonight. Please, _please_ come help me."

He inwardly groaned.

"What for? A straight party again? Not interested."

Mika was a precious friend, but he didn't want to go to a boring party where he'd have nothing in common with anyone else. They often went out together, to have fun and to challenge each to find new conquests. They secretly hoped their new conquest would be their dream partner, which would put an end to their everyday circus.

"Do you already have someone for tonight or what?" she asked.

"Not yet. But I do intend to find one."  
Of course that wasn't a good enough excuse to let him escape her plan.

"Well, come on then!"

Mika somehow had a talent to always make him end up in situations he'd never put himself into without her.

"Do you remember my friend Pi?" she said, and excitedly continued explaining what this was all about."He knows about our seduction games, I often talk to him about mine. Well, tonight, he asked me to hit on one of his friends... and apparently, he's rather charming."

Haru didn't bother to hide his groan. 

"If he's straight, why should I care?"

She chuckled.

"That's the thing: Pi is wondering whether he's straight or not, that's why he called me. So I immediately thought of you... Go on, say I'm an awesome best friend."

Now that was a surprise, but still... it wasn't his idea of a perfect night out.

"Mika... you're silly."

"I'll expect you at my place soon, so that we can get ready together!"

After hanging up, he dropped down on his couch again and switched to yet another TV channel.

***

Oriental lamps glowed on the ground, giving the restaurant a soft and mysterious orange light. Kame had never seen such a place before: small mattresses covered in dark silk were on the floor, next to low tables on which there were small teacups, glasses and... something that looked like a weird instrument. Dark semi-transparent veils had been arranged like curtains between mattresses on the sides farthest from the tables, which made the atmosphere all the more hazy. The air was heavy with a heady scent. 

Once his eyes got used to this setting, Kame felt under scrutiny. He wondered if he was imagining it, so he had a look around and very quickly, his eyes rested on a stranger already seated, next to a beautiful young woman. He was wearing a tight black tshirt -that nicely showed off his torso muscles- and tight jeans. His short hair looked naturally a bit spiky, but the truth was he was just good at doing fashionable hairdo's. 

Kame blinked. He hadn't intended to stare, but he hadn't expected to see someone so stylish tonight either. That was... interesting. After looking at other people for a few moments, he gave up and sneaked a sidelong glance towards that guy again.

The man's lips were closed around a cigarette and the burning ashes at its end mirrored in his piercing gaze. So Kame hadn't been dreaming... he had indeed been watched. Even worse, he'd been caught looking back.

Yamapi's voice took Kame out of his observation thoughts.

"Mika you came here!!" Pi cheered.

The girl got up to meet them with a smile. There was something both elegant and sensual about her look; a simple black corset showed off her delicate and stunning silhouette. Even Kame couldn't deny she was incredibly beautiful. 

"So, Pi, aren't you introducing your friends to me?" The mysterious girl asked.

Yamapi's smile grew wider.

"The blond one who hit his head when he stepped in is Jin." The girl arched an eyebrow but let him continue. "The tiny guy is Ryo... and here is Kazuya."

Kame certainly hadn't expected such an introduction.

"Pi, are you sure all your friends are ok with me already using their first names?"

"Of course they're fine with that. They won't even pay attention to that after the shisha..."

Yamapi looked at their table, nodded at the instrument Kame didn't know and snorted:

"I see you and Haru didn't wait for us to start."

Mika playfully hit his shoulder, but it didn't stop him from stepping towards their mattress and laughing some more. He beckoned Kame towards him and sat down. And so, the younger ended up between Pi and Mika, next to whoever the smoker was. 

While the guys could easily sit cross-legged on the edge of the mattress, Mika slid towards the back, to let the long legs her short skirt revealed lie more comfortably.

"Haru, can you give me the shisha?"

The boy called Haru held onto the hookah tube a bit longer.

"Wait a second, I want to try something."

He stuck the tip between his lips at the same time as his cigarette, and breathed in - a sight which made Mika roll her eyes. But Haru ignored her and turned his gaze towards Kame when he slowly took his lips off the tube. For a second Kame thought he spotted a twitch at the corner of his mouth - an almost seductive one, and that was... unexpected. Kazuya set his eyes back on Mika and ignored the subtle shiver the sight had caused on him.

"How did you get to know Pi?" He asked, pushing away any mental comment on that guy's looks.

"We partied together a few times," she replied, "and... the two of us really had fun. So that's how we became friends. Haru-chan doesn't know him, though. He's just a friend of mine."

Kame kept his eyes on her and watched her breathe in that weird thing. Before he expected it, she handed him the tube with a smile.

"Here you go, Kazuya" she said, and leaned on his shoulder. Her silky hair slowly slid close to his neck and a very pleasant scent reached him. 

Kame almost wondered if he'd had a drink and forgotten about it. Because seeing her lips this close... he thought they almost looked tempting. 

Of course, the earlier sight of the hot guy's lips sensually abandonning the shisha had had an even stronger effect on him - No, _not_ 'the hot guy'. Haru. Just, Haru. 

Although Kame tried to go back to reasonable thoughts, his higher pulse was proof that yes, he certainly thought that guy was handsome. 

Minutes went by quickly, between shisha, random discussions, and the young man making sure their eyes often met. Kazuya hated to admit it, but every time, he felt himself give in more and more and accept that yes, Haru _was_ hot. Everything about this guy was seductive, from the way he held himself to his way to talk. But the girl kept taking his attention away on purpose, sitting unusually close to him. Kame was a little bit confused by their behaviour - he wasn't used to anything like that, but maybe that was a normal behaviour at parties? Despite his confusion, he did enjoy it.

Kazuya's consumption started to affect him: he didn't really keep track of the others' conversations anymore, and let this unusual atmosphere slowly numb him. A laugh, a whisper, her perfumed hair sliding near his face again... for some mysterious reason, Mika had awoken something in him. It wasn't a craving for something sexual but she certainly looked... nice to touch. And those lips murmuring things to him, so close to him... they looked so soft.

At some point, she got up to go get something to drink for both her and Pi. That's when Haru took advantage of Mika leaving to take her spot. Kame blinked and tried to get back to his senses.

"Pshht. She's not even sharing" Haru muttered before handing Kame the tube again.

"Huh... what are you talking about?"

Haru's only answer was to already take the shisha back, his eyes sparkling mischievously. Kame's eyes came to rest on his lips again... and in particular on the way they were surrounding that object. Another shiver went through him. The way Haru glanced at him was more than suspicious, and so was the way he was smoking. 

"Hey... 'Kazuya', right? How about a smoke outside? It's way too hot in here, I can barely breathe."

Outside. Alone with Haru. Kame heard himself say yes before he even really thought about it.

***

Pi and Jin were having yet another toast when Mika joined them. Jin staggered a few steps sideways, officially to free some space for her next to him.

"Yaay Mikaaa!!" he cheered.

"Jin shut up, you're way too drunk again." Pi protested, attempting to calm down Jin's enthusiasm.

Mika just laughed and settled between them.

"Piii, your friend is really cute. You weren't lying," she confided.

Jin reacted before anyone could stop him.  
"Huuh?? You told her you think I'm hot?? You can tell her I also think she's-"

Pin hurried to cut in.  
"Jin. What did I just tell you?" 

Jin was disappointed but he did shut up. He still carefully listened.

Mika ignored him and went on.  
"As far as my diagnosis can go, he's certainly not indifferent to me. But..." she bit her lip, looking thoughtful. "I don't know, although Kazuya seems to enjoy staying close to me, he doesn't look like he actually wants to do anything with m-"

Jin interrupted again, a smirk on his lips:

"Oh don't worry, you just have to give him a little push in the beginning. And after that, you can't stop him!" he winked and laughed.

Pi's eyebrows shot up, and for once he didn't try to silence him. "Ha???" he exclaimed, "you never told me Kame had gone out with girls!!"

Jin belatedly realised his words had been slightly too revealing. He let himself fall back on the mattress and muttered "Forget what I just said."

His head was spinning and it felt like the mattress was moving beneath him, as if it was a boat. Among the images that unexpectedly took over his mind, the only one that became clearer and clearer was the image of Kame kissing Mika. He needed to see that for real, even if that made no sense... it was a vital necessity to see Kame's lips having fun. Jin blamed the thrill he felt at the mere thought of it on his beverages and on the shisha.

***

Kame's face was hit by cold air when they stepped out. He leaned his shoulders against the wall, trying to stay careful - although it was tempting not to. Meanwhile, Haru lit his long black cigarette, the flame briefly lighting up their faces with an orange glow before letting them fall back into the darkness of this empty street.

Fuck, Haru really was too hot. Kame couldn't take his eyes off his lips.

"Don't look at me like that, I'll give you some, I promise!" Haru chuckled, which made Kame's heart stop. What did he mean?! But when Haru slowly stepped into his personal space to place his cigarette between Kazuya's lips, he got it.  
Nonetheless, Haru's fingers subtly brushed against his skin in the process. 

They talked very little, but their mischievous smiles were enough of a hint to give them an idea of what they were each thinking about. Especially since Haru hadn't stepped back.

"It fucking annoys me when Mika makes me keep her company at a straight party." Haru muttered 

Kame's doubts were confirmed, and this new piece of information made him slightly feverish. Since the young man had confided that about himself... maybe he could guess what Kame's preferences were. Was he that obvious?

"You could've just told her you're not interested" he replied and kept smoking, in the hope of hiding his discomfort.

When Kame exhaled some smoke, Haru took his cigarette back and leaned even closer to him.

When had smoking become something that sexy? Even the the cold wall against which Kame's neck was resting wasn't enough to draw him out of what felt like hypnosis. His fingers brushed against Haru's when he took the cigarette back. That guy was now so close the younger could almost feel his breath on his cheek.

Their position was clearly no longer innocent. During their cigarette sharing, the older had drawn close to the point of sneaking his knee against the wall - between Kame's own knees. The latter started to feel a bit tense and his pulse shot up. What was Haru going to do??

Kazuya felt more and more impatient, his body craving for even more closeness despite his fears.

When Haru responded, Kame had almost forgotten what he himself had just said.

"She told me there would be a cute guy I might like..." a corner of his mouth rose. "She wasn't wrong."

Instead of going back to smoking, Haru dropped his cigarette on the floor and looked straight into the other boy's eyes. The younger's neck against the wall, his eyes and lips sensually parted... yes, they had to both be thinking about the same thing.

"What are you waiting for to kiss me?" Kazuya muttered, pretending to be blasé, but the way he was fixing him made it obvious he was excited.

Haru didn't wait for another request.

Kazuya sighed in relief as soon as their lips met. It had been such a long time... 

The kiss had been simple at first, but it quickly grew wilder and wilder and awoke his senses. 

Before this, Kame had thought he wouldn't need a boyfriend or... some physical adventure. Until now, his loneliness had been enough for him, as well as Ueda's stories he listened to were. 

But now, his body's reactions made him think he'd refrained from doing anything for way too long. What's more, there was something... exciting about the fact that only a simple wall separated them from all the others. One of their friends would just have to step out to see something.

But that was the last of their worries. Everywhere their bodies touched made them forget how cold it was - until Kazuya felt icy fingers sneak behind the button of his trousers. He had no idea how that button had gotten undone, but the icy fingers were already sliding further, further... between his legs. 

He was unable to hold back a low moan that got lost in Haru's mouth, while the latter's fingers made him feel more and more turned on.

"Haru, you really can't stop taking my dates away."

The surprise took his breath away and Kame hurriedly drew away from Haru when he heard Mika's voice, panicking. But an additional surprise was that the girl just looked amused.

"Oh, you can go on, I didn't mean to interrupt," she said with a smirk, "I love the ways your eyebrows were twitching, Kazuya."

Kame's brain still hadn't caught up with the situation. Why the fuck was she talking like that?!

"Mika, shut up and leave us alone, can't you see we're busy?" Haru muttered.

Mika sighed exaggeratedly. 

"Don't get so annoyed. I just wanted to warn you the others are going to step out in a minute. We're going to a club."

Haru stepped away from Kame, obviously disappointed. 

Kame hadn't gotten over his emotions yet. What had just been a trivial moment for Haru had been a first time for him. The younger was however quick to find a way to look like nothing had happened before the others arrived. 

***

That night, unlike his usual party habits, Jin didn't try to draw any attention to himself. His head felt way too heavy for anything like that, so as soon as they entered the club, he ordered a drink and slumped over an armchair. Pi and Ryo sat down next to him, while Kame, Haru and Mika went towards the dancefloor.

"Well, well... I have to admit, I'm impressed." Ryo said, eyes on Kame's hands that were on Mika's waist.

"See, I had told you you'd drawn your conclusions too quickly" Pi replied. "Kazuya looks like he's in his element with those two."

His friends' words barely reached Jin's ears. He was also watching the scene, his thoughts from the restaurant still obsessing him.

Without the others paying any attention to it, Haru was dancing on the other side of Mika, so close that Kame's fingers almost brushed against him. Mika knew her two dance partners were only thinking about each other without daring to get close again - not here in any case. But that just made the dance more amusing for her. How much longer would they resist? 

However she also knew why Pi had invited her. Although they had already been friends for a long time, her friendship with Haru was even older... so there was no doubt who's interest would be her priority.  
What's more, she'd quickly felt sensitive to Kazuya's situation. Or to be honest, she'd really enjoyed the sight of them together outside... and hoped that she would get to see that again tonight.

She therefore decided to use Pi's strategy the other way round, and drew closer to Kame so that he could hear her voice over all the noise.

"Kazuya, what I'm about to do, I'm doing it for you," she said with a serious tone. The other had to understand she wasn't kidding. "I'm doing this so that your friends won't one day bother you with dumb questions. So... don't push me away, ok?"

The younger barely had the time to give her a confused look: her soft lips were already meeting his at the same time that her perfume invaded his space. For an instant he didn't move out of surprise, but when he thought back to what she'd just said... it almost made sense. He relaxed a little bit and in the end, responded to the sensual kiss. It really wasn't unpleasant, and he didn't dislike the warmth of her body either.

"Am I here to hold a candle for you two or what?" Haru ironically protested and stepped back.

"Earlier it was me doing that, now it's your turn," she replied with a smirk.

Mika didn't wait for another complaint and went back to their kiss. Kazuya however didn't close his eyes this time, and watched Haru instead. There was something exciting about kissing this girl, simply because he knew Haru was watching and wanted him. 

And Haru wasn't the only one staring.

 

"Guys!! I can't believe it!" Ryo shouted. "Look at Kame!!"

"Shut up" Jin muttered. "...I'm going to dance now, see you later."

Jin didn't want to hear Ryo's silly comments any longer. He walked away to get to enjoy the view without anything to distract him from it. Once he was on his own, he took a deep breath and stared. His skin unexpectedly prickled.

Oh what a Kazu... Jin was proud to see him like this, drawing everyone's attention. No one would say he's too shy or too innocent anymore: tonight, Kame was a hot guy who looked like he was thriving. Just like Pi and Jin usually looked in the girls' eyes... not Ryo, Jin thought with a smirk. He wasn't exactly sure why he felt like criticizing Ryo, but he didn't want to think about that right now. Something much more enjoyable was in front of him.

Of course it looked hot, he told himself with a grin, since Kame had chosen one of the hottest girls here. If Jin was appreciating this sight, the same couldn't be said about Haru. 

Annoyed, he stepped away even further and gave Kame a warning:

"Kazuya. I'm going to the bathroom. You're free to follow me, or not to."

Kame stopped kissing and was immediately unsettled. He surely hadn't expected that and didn't know how he ought to react. His eyes hesitantly went from Mika to Haru...

"Go on, follow him." Mika said with a smile, although her look did seem slightly disappointed. Deep down, she was still happy for the two guys that they had got to meet... and appreciate each other. "Haru, you better take good care of him" she added seriously.

Haru scoffed.  
"Of course! Don't worry about that."

Kame felt his heart thump like crazy when he saw the wink Haru had just made. While they both sneaked through the crowd, the only thing on their mind was their exciting expectations. That was enough to already make Kame feel another slight shiver go through him, which made him feel even more excited - until on the way he spotted a confused Jin still looking for them near Mika. He ignored the way his chest tightened and moved forwards.

 

The sound of his zipper getting opened echoed in the tiny cubicle they'd snuck into. Haru's wandering hands made Kame forget to breathe.

Pleasure similar to what he'd felt ourside invaded him again; one of Haru's hands wandered underneath his tank top, almost completely pulling it up to expose his torso. The sexy bites he was giving Kame's lips stopped: he went down to kiss the soft skin of his stomach instead. Kisses, licks... Kame felt like his tummy was being devoured. He watched Haru kiss his navel and not stop there. The younger heavily exhaled and shut his eyes without meaning to - all that probably due to the novelty of this moment, but he opened his eyes again, not wanting to miss a thing. Haru tugged Kame's jeans until they slid to the floor. 

Kame breathed more quickly, both in excited anticipation and in slight anxiousness. But of course Haru was going to take good care of him, he'd promised to, hadn't he? 

Then that was it: he was fully exposed to the other man's persisting look. Haru's smirk and glance at his face made Kame feel slightly embarrassed... but he didn't have to deal with that gaze for a long time: Haru's attention went lower and the older bit his lips.

"Fuck. Kame..." he breathed, his position making his breath go against a very sensitive spot. It did reassure Kazuya to hear the the other one sounding just as turned on as him.

And very soon, it was more than his breath Kame felt.

Kame stared.  
That was it. A gay guy was on his knees for him, licking his-

He gasped.

Kazuya hadn't meant to jut his hips forwards, but he couldn't hold back. He followed Haru's rythm, having a hard time not to complety lose control. But he needed... he needed to give in to his instincts. Kame hesitantly put a hand in the other man's hair. 

He'd only meant to carress it, but a wave of pleasure made him grip it. Fuck... that was so, so, hot. 

A sigh left his lips.   
Kame wondered why he'd missed on such experiences for so long. 

Then a low whimper escaped his mouth - that hopefully no one had heard.

Only moments later, there was another noisy sigh. 

How could he be quiet with all the tension that was building up? More and more pressure... the tension almost becoming unbearable. He needed more... a little bit more... and of course, Haru's mouth was providing everything he needed.

"... Sorry!!!"

The cubicle's door had just opened and closed very quickly, barely giving Kame the time to recognise the young athlete from the other day. But his brain was so overtaken by his sensations that it didn't matter.

The sounds Kame kept making were just so dirty... why would it matter if someone heard him? He just needed to fucking come already, nothing else mattered.

Yes, Kame did feel a bit ashamed that his pleasure was so obvious, probably even on the other side of the door, but he couldn't deal with everything at the same time.

Haru felt the grip on his hair tighten, while Kame tilted his own head backwards.

Then, Kame was finally free, his whole body shuddering as he came with another sigh. 

While he heavily leaned onto the nearest wall, his short hair stuck to his sweaty temples while his irregular breath finally started to slow down.

***

"Kazuya, I'm sorry but I lost my mobile. So I'll give you Haru's number instead, so that we can stay in touch." Mika said with a huge smile, while everyone was getting ready to go back home or back to their room at the Junior's location.

Kame slightly blushed, knowing precisely why she was doing this.

"...thanks."

Haru caught his arm to stop him, just when Kame had been about to go.  
"Beep my phone now so that I can get your number, I'm not going to let you leave like that" he said with a playful grin on his lips.  
Kame didn't wait for a second request. 

He sincerely regretted that this evening already had to end. For the first time in months, he had felt like he was living intense moments.

 

As soon as they were a few feet away, Yamapi, Jin and Ryo prevented Kame from staying in his own bubble to think about that night.

"Kameeee you'd hidden that side from us!!" Ryo exclaimed while messing up his hair.

The younger refrained from pushing him away, although he was tempted to do so in an unfriendly way.

"Kame is definitely an impressive seducer!" Jin joked and poked his abs.

"Oi, guys," Pi cut in, "let him enjoy the fresh memories a bit longer." But just after, he also had a smirk on his lips and in the end, he continued their conversation anyway. "We definitely ought to go out with you more often, we had no idea you were like this!"

"Hell yeah!!" Jin cheered. "I do want to see you acting like that more often!"

Kame certainly hadn't expected Jin to say something like that, but everyone was talking so quickly he couldn't think.

"...it's now that you wake up, Jin?" Ryo said with a snort."You looked like you were asleep while we were partying."

Jin ignored him and continued to look at Kame with glittering eyes. Despite the evening's events, the younger couldn't stay unsensitive to Jin when the older put an arm around his shoulders, and leaned closer to whisper more unexpected words.

"I lo..." Jin stopped mid-sentence, but immediately started again: "I adore you, Kazuya."

 

As far as Jin was concerned, seeing Kame go wild with a girl had helped him stop feeling too uncomfortable or ambiguous to show him his affection again. Maybe deep down he had shared the same doubts as Ryo? 

Tonight, telling himself that Kame _did_ for sure like girls had helped him drop his uneasiness. He now considered that their reconciliation had been 100% fulfilled, and that they could go back to the close friendship they'd had before, without having anything to worry about.

 

During the whole trip back, Jin's arms never left Kame.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And this is it! Part 1 is over :).
> 
> Thank you so much for reading, I hope you enjoyed it!
> 
> You can say goodbye to Murasaki's chibi-Akame :)
> 
> And soon you can say hello to an older Akame ❤


End file.
